


GOT Simulation: Robert's Reign

by CreativeLiterature



Series: GOT Simulation [7]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:20:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29724777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreativeLiterature/pseuds/CreativeLiterature
Summary: Sequel to GOT Simulation: Robert's Rebellion. Two new people become self-insert characters from the original end of Robert's Rebellion with their own stories where they join the other characters to celebrate Robert's Reign.
Relationships: Arianne Martell/Gendry Waters, Asha Greyjoy/Jon Snow, Cersei Lannister/Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon/Catelyn Tully Stark, Robert Baratheon/Daenerys Targaryen
Series: GOT Simulation [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089383





	GOT Simulation: Robert's Reign

_A/N: This is a sequel to GOT Simulation: Robert's Rebellion and follows on directly after adding in two new self-insert characters. I have tried to be as accurate about people and places and timelines as possible._

"Hey, look!" Max cried. "We get to play our old simulation."

Clara, Grace and Zoe edged closer to get a look. Amidst the sprawling blue where they stood was Westeros, glimpses of feudal life showing all their accomplishments when they had Adam among them but neither Grace nor Zoe.

"Let's play," Clara decided, stepping up to the simulator. "Zoe, you have to play."

"No I don't," Zoe said stubbornly as Max ignored her and Grace looked between the girls. "I don't like shows with a lot of hype."

"Come on," Clara rolled her eyes. "Just do it this once for us."

Grumbling, Zoe stepped up to a podium while Grace brightened and Clara remained immobile and Max took not a care at all. Clara and Max were locked into their old characters but Grace and Zoe could choose new ones. Adam who had died had not been invited back to play.

"Well, we meet again," Aemon Targaryen rose in a puff of smoke, the host for this particular simulation. "Are you back to challenge the lords of Westeros?"

"Yes," Clara said with finality. "I want to be Cersei and I want to stay married to Eddard."

"True, true," Aemon nodded his head. "Then nothing will have changed."

"I want to stay king," Max said, "But I don't want a pansy for my son!"

"There is nothing wrong with a man of learning," Aemon considered. "You should be proud your son chose books over - "

"Nah," Max shook his head. "Gimme a real boy."

"Fine," Aemon considered as Clara bit her lip. He glided closer to the two new entrants. "And who will you two be in this land of warfare and deceit?"

"Um, I dunno," Grace blushed prettily. "Sansa?"

"Oh my god," Clara rolled her eyes and Max shot her an invective stare while Zoe frowned. "Sansa doesn't exist! Catelyn married Robert and I married Ned, remember?"

"Oh," Grace was quite downtrodden at that. Numbly she scrolled down the lists on her panel with the touch screen, names jumping out at her and those that took precedence being of the main character list. "She's pretty!"

"Arianne Martell," Aemon nodded wisely. "Princess, I should say, of Dorne."

"I'll be her!" Grace fell in love with her long dark locks and sultry good looks.

"Figures," Zoe grumbled as she found several men she could be but for no price would she put a cock between her legs. "I'll be this girl. This Asha."

"Asha Greyjoy," Aemon nodded. "Lord Balon Greyjoy's only daughter of Pyke."

"Come on!" Max cheered, as Clara frowned at him and Zoe shook her head. "Let's get this on!"

"Very well," Aemon raised his hands and the blue simulation began to devolve and shudder towards the land of Westeros. "When you wake, it will be 276 AC, the shared birthdate of both Arianne and Asha. Upon reaching 284AC, Clara and Max will resume so as to prevent a time paradox."

"OK," Grace nodded, thinking she could hardly mess things up till then since she was a baby in Sunspear.

"Fine," Zoe grudgingly acknowledged, for though she knew little of Westeros, the Greyjoys had little of a part to play in Robert's Rebellion and would not affect the overall outcome.

"Begin!" Aemon declared as all four hurtled to earth and burst forth in a bright, silvery blue light.

**276 AC**

Grace/ARIANNE

Grace blinked up at the light that was her mother's eyes peering at her holding the bundle in which she lay.

"What?" Grace burbled in all that was but a squeak and a sudden torrent of crying.

"She's beautiful," Mellario mused, turning to Doran. "Isn't she?"

Zoe/ASHA

Zoe glanced up into the eyes of her mother, Lady Alannys who had a hard face and grim set around her mouth.

"A girl," Alannys' eyes shifted somewhat. "The boys will need a girl around."

"My lady," shifted a servant into position. "Shall I take her?"

"No," Alannys was firm. "She is my first daughter and for all I know my last. Send for my lord husband."

"Yes, my lady," the servant scurried off while Alannys could not bring herself to smile but still held it in her heart the love she had for this young child of hers.

**281 AC**

Grace/ARIANNE

"Elia! Pick me up, aunty!"

Grace clambered into Elia's arms who swung her round in a fit of frenzy then affectionately cooed and pinched her cheeks, kissing each in turn.

"I love you," Elia nuzzled her face close to Arianne's. "My beautiful little niece."

Grace reddened at that. With what sentience she had as a five year old, she was nowhere near as beautiful as Elia, who was slim and graceful and whom she pined to be.

"Elia," Oberyn smiled, his long hair as dark as the night and his grin rueful. "It is time."

"I know," Elia placed Grace back on the ground and gave Oberyn a hug. "Jaime has been knighted, I am told?"

"Yes," Oberyn nodded, with a smile for Grace who watched in fervour. "By Ser Arthur Dayne of the Kingsguard."

"Well," Elia smoothed down her delicate gown. "It is time for me to go to Casterly Rock."

"Why?" Grace whined, not far from her real life counterpart in that respect.

"You know why," Elia knelt down to Grace while Oberyn glanced around. "You can come see me once you're all grown up - "

"No!" Grace whinged, held back by her wet nurse as Elia hid her tears, helped into the waiting litter by Oberyn. "Let go of me!"

**282 AC**

Grace/ARIANNE

"Father?" Grace called. She tiptoed close to an ajar door where she could see Doran sitting at a table with an advisor and Areo Hotah nearby, silent as gloom.

"... we shall not," Doran shook his head. "Our alliance with Tywin Lannister holds strong."

"My prince," spoke the adviser, a man in her father's keeping and one of his wise counsel. "Lord Tywin has yet to declare a side… and Prince Lewyn writes to us of his need for military aid."

"My uncle will not have his men," Doran's fist was white knuckled while Areo stood silently nearby. "Like Tywin Lannister, we shall not declare for a side until we know more. Elia now resides at the Rock and it would be unwise of us to declare for Rhaegar so soon."

**283 AC**

Grace/ARIANNE

"It is done," Doran placed a hand on his seven year old daughter's shoulder. "The war is over, my sweet child."

"Who won?" Grace scratched her nose, as Doran told her. "Oh, right."

Zoe/ASHA

How boring life was on a stony shore such as this, to be ordered around by her thin-lipped mother and tight-fisted father, with nowhere to go but where the gulls squawked and the rooms were chilly no matter how hot the fire in the grate.

Zoe turned, skinny with pimples dotting her face to rejoin her mother in the chambers where she and Balon broke off their conversation and glanced to see their only daughter entering.

"What?" Zoe paled at their insistence.

"Watch your tongue," her mother Alannys hissed. "Take a seat, child."

Zoe did as she was bid while Balon brooded over the fireplace and Alannys remained respectfully silent.

"The Usurper has taken King's Landing," Balon was iron in his tones. "He rules by right of conquest."

"So will you, husband," Alannys beseeched, for her father-in-law Quellon had been slain during the Battle at the Mander. " _You_ are King of the Iron Isles. You know it - "

"Shut up, woman," Balon purpled with rage. "You forget your place."

"How can I?" Alannys screeched, rising. "You do not stake your claim on what is yours."

"Enough," Balon said with finality. "You will sit and you will be quiet."

"Shut up," Zoe rose. "Don't talk to her that way."

"Go to your quarters!" Balon screeched. "That's quite enough out of you, child."

Moping, Zoe returned to her chilly rooms and locked the door behind her, not that her parents would visit to give a damn. She had given it her all in a simulation that did not care back. Where were her friends? She did not join them to be a stupid daughter in a stupid family.

"I hate this place," Zoe felt the moody resentment of a child piece through her stomach as she crawled up on her bed to sleep, hearing rain pounding against the balcony outside.

**284 AC**

Grace/ARIANNE

"Don't be shy," Tyene grinned. "Do it."

"No," Grace blushed, though Andrey was eager. "You do it."

Grace watched as Tyene kissed Andrey full on the mouth, while long-nosed Garin and freckled Sylva laughed along with them all. Andrey blushed but Tyene had no such reservedness.

"Little princess," Areo Hotah came striding up, interrupting the fracas. "Your father requests you see him in his chambers."

"OK," Grace bounced up, waving a goodbye to her friends as she met her father with a grim face turning to her in his chair. "Father?"

"You are to visit Casterly Rock with your uncle Oberyn," Doran told her, watching Grace's eyes lit up in contrast to his own muted expression. "He will be standing in for me, paying respects at Lord Tywin's funeral."

"Oh, yay!" Grace was so glad. "Thank you, Father!"

"This is not a time for celebration," Doran frowned. "But I understand to take it you are excited to leave Dorne."

"No, um, yeah," Grace paused. "I just want to see more of Westeros!"

Grace leapt forward to hug her father and ran for her chambers to pick out jewellery and gowns befit for the event.

Zoe/ASHA

"Are we going?" Zoe tried to sound nonchalant but Alannys turned to stare at her.

"Lord Tywin's funeral?" Alannys sniffed and returned to her sewing. "He never paid us any mind. A great lord he may be, but there is no need to pay a man like that homage at all."

"Fuck this," Zoe muttered under her breath, ignoring five year old Theon swinging with his wooden sword while his uncle Aeron watched closely. "This is bullshit."

Grace/ARIANNE

Grace glanced out of the wheelhouse excitedly as her wheelhouse surrounded by Dornish men traveled up the ocean road.

"Yay!" Grace cheered, waving to Oberyn who rode on horseback while her septa insisted she remain in the wheelhouse for her safety. "I'm fine, you know!"

Clara/CERSEI

 _God this is boring_ , Clara thought as she stood in the sept where Tywin was interred. Not that his body had made it out of King's Landing. Beside her Max/Robert stood, wearing his crown with grim jawed Catelyn beside him, not caring a whit for anybody but herself for she had to endure the agony of her husband having welcomed the Targaryen girl into his royal household.

To one side stood Jaime and her aunt Genna, while Elia remained bedridden for her recent birth had been a painful one to bring twin boys into the world.

"C'mon," Clara muttered under her breath.

Beside her Eddard heard her impatience and gave her hand a quick squeeze and Clara smiled, while silent sisters performed the rites over an empty bier overlaid with Tywin's gold and gilded swords.

Max/ROBERT

Max lay next to Catelyn in the bed they shared in tTwin's old quarters which were now Jaime's, but he had relinquished them so he could be with Elia in the nursery who was still sore from delivering his children. Catelyn's back remained firmly turned to him as he contemplated going to a Casterly Rock whorehouse this time of night.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Hi, Cersei!" Grace waved, redspots covering her face as she spotted Clara with Jon in her arms and Eddard talking with Max/Robert.

"Hi," Clara said mutely, as Grace rushed up to see her while her septa trailed along.

"Lady Stark," the septa began her introduction. "May I - "

"Allow me," Prince Oberyn smirked, sauntering up to Cersei with a bow. "Lady Cersei. This is my niece, the Princess Arianne."

"I know," Clara bit back her words as soon as she said them for Oberyn raised his eyebrow and the septa was surprised at her candor. "Have you seen Elia?"

"I have," Oberyn nodded studiously. "She is in poor health, though no doubt the gold of Casterly Rock buys the best maesters in the realm."

Clara/CERSEI

"Let's go for a walk," Clara said dryly, as Grace jumped to join her by her side and Oberyn watched her go while the septa curtsied appropriately.

"Isn't this cool, Clara?" Grace glanced around in fervour at the delights Casterly Rock had to offer, all gold and lions and magnificence though muted for such a somber occasion.

"Yeah," Clara remarked sarcastically. "Listen, my name's Cersei now. Do you want to come back to Winterfell with me?"

"Really?" Grace's eyes were bright.

"Oh, wait," Clara paused, glancing down at her belly. "I'm gonna have a baby in a few months. Sorry."

"Aw," Grace wasn't totally defeated as she followed Clara into one of the many gardens overlooking the sea to the west. "Maybe I can come to court, though?"

"Once the war dies down," Clara advised. "Max - Robert - still has to root out all the rival claimants to the throne and the enemies of the Targaryen line."

"Oh," Grace said seriously as though trying to take in the significance of what this meant. "Hey look, there he is!"

MAX/ROBERT

"Grace!" Robert waved, surrounded by his Kingsguard and advisers and courtiers at large. The simulation translated his words to 'Arianne' as he hugged her and looked surprised to see her. "Ew, what's that on your face?"

"Redspots," Grace blushed, hiding her face and nearly welling into tears at the public humiliation.

"Leave her alone," Clara stood by her side, all golden hair and jewels she didn't bother wearing in Winterfell. "C'mon."

"I'll see you guys later!" Max lifted a hand in farewell as he mounted his horse and headed down the rise headed for the Lion's Mouth.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Aw, I wish I was coming with you," Grace complained as her septa urged her into the wheelhouse.

"You'll be fine," Clara said stubbornly, while Eddard mounted his horse and her own wheelhouse awaited her. "You can come see Jon when he gets older."

"Yeah," Grace said, dispirited. "Oh, well! Hope you have a fun journey!"

"Yeah," Clara rolled her eyes as Grace stepped into the wheelhouse beside her septa and over cobblestones they went as the wheels jutted to and fro.

"You are much too friendly to the nobles, Arianne," the septa advised. "Best to keep a cool, calm courtesy."

"She's my friend!" Grace said defensively.

" _Lady_ Stark governs a Great House," the septa advised wisely. "You must remain on good terms with all the Houses if you hope for peace and neutrality."

"Course," Grace wilted. "I just want everyone to be happy."

"You are more and more like Elia every day," Oberyn smiled as he rode up to pop his head inside the wheelhouse. The septa beamed as Grace smiled nervously.

Max/ROBERT

"How's it going?" Max sat at one of the few small council meetings he had attended, mostly while he waited for his child to be born while Catelyn was in her chambers.

"We are all hoping for the safe delivery of your child, Your Grace," Varys nodded his plump head effusively, who was master of whispers.

"Indeed," Lord Arryn nodded. "We are all here to serve you, Your Grace."

"Thanks," Max nodded, glancing round the table to where in addition to being made Lord of Storm's End, his brother Stannis sat as master of laws on the small council alongside Davos Seaworth who was master of ships, having liked him on the TV show. "Who's gonna be our master of coin? I want some money to spend."

"The rebuilding is still in process, Your Grace," Stannis' teeth ground together. "We shall need a great envoy to this castle of yours to ensure everything is up to scratch - "

"Your Grace," interrupted Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard whom Max had pardoned for his part in aiding the Mad King. "You wished me to tell you when the baby was born? A boy, Your Grace."

"Sweet!" Max cheered, leaping from his seat at once to see his newborn child.

* * *

"How are plans for the young girl?" Varys asked Lord Arryn, once the doors were shut.

"Rhaella will be interred with minimal fuss," Lord Arryn steepled his fingers. "A prisoner true but a victim of her husband's infidelities and schemes of which His Grace is certain. The boy Viserys has been sent to the Wall while His Grace has asked us to name the child Daenerys."

"Well," Varys raised his eyebrows. "He is to raise her as his own, alongside his newborn son?"

"She is not a bastard of his," Stannis pointed out the obvious. "She is a ward of sorts treated with the same candor as if she were of his blood."

"How is the queen taking it?" Varys mused. "Not too badly, I hope?"

**285 AC**

Clara/CERSEI

"Benjen has gone north," Eddard said, nodding towards the cribs which held his baby girl, attended to by a wet nurse while Clara recovered from the ordeal. "What will we name her?"

"How about Lenne," Clara suggested, bending the rules.

"Lenne?" Eddard frowned. "I have naught heard a name like it in all my life."

"A short life," Clara raised her eyebrows. "We're still young, you know."

"You are," Eddard sat on the bed and ran his hands through her bedraggled hair. "Well, you can name the girl. I will name the boy."

Max/ROBERT

"How's it going?" Max peered into the queen's apartments where she suckled his baby boy on her breast.

"He is well," Catelyn glanced up at him, a mere smile through relief the child had not perished to illness. "You must not fret so much."

"I do," Max ran a hand through his dark hair, unlike the blonde-white of his real life own. He sported a bristly beard and famed countenance for his muscles. "I'm gonna head out."

"The girl?" Catelyn asked, her voice hardening as he turned for the door.

"Yeah," Max said dryly, hoping for a fight which he would win as king. "So what?"

**287 AC**

Zoe/ASHA

"Come at me, you cur!" Maron cried as he locked swords with Rodrick, the two fighting with swords as their quartermaster watched carefully. Maron had the bark and Rodrick had the bite. "Aah!"

"C'mon, Maron," Zoe said resentfully, wishing she could fight with steel but she was only twelve, and too ugly to join them as her older brothers reminded her.

"You try, sister," Maron tossed her the blade and spat onto the rocks.

Alive, Zoe took the blade and went toe to toe with Rodrick, but she held no such ground as her older brother soon had her flat on her back and red with embarrassment.

"Figures," Rodrick clapped his brother on the back. "You have no place here, wench."

Miserly Zoe moped off to the kitchens to watch the cook hard at work while dogs nipped around her ankles from the door she had left ajar.

"Get out!" Zoe had never felt more unwanted as the lady's shrill tones beat on her like the rolling pin she held. "You'll put even more of a chill in here."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Aw, he's so cute!" Grace cheered to see her mother holding baby Trystane in her arms. "Can I hold him?"

"Go and look after your brother," Doran advised while Mellario glowed, a mother of three.

"OK," Grace nodded, agreeably to perch near Quentyn and read him a book of tales.

**289 AC**

Zoe/ASHA

"I will rule," Lord Balon stood before the assembled crowd, crowned in driftwood with Nagga's Ribs looming behind while his men cheered before him. "The Iron Fleet will take what is theirs. What is dead may never die."

* * *

"Father's made a stupid mistake," Zoe blurted out one night.

"Don't say that," Theon glanced to the door where the two of them shared quarters for the nights were lonely without Rodrick or Maron. "He'll come back, you know it."

* * *

"... he has burned the Lannister fleet," Alannys read to her children, her little prince and princess though neither could say their mother held much affection for them. "You watch my words. You'll be sorry."

Max/ROBERT

"What is it?" Max wiped the sleep from his eyes as he wandered into the small council chambers, a cloak thrown over his muscular frame but still wearing his smallclothes.

"Your Grace," Varys wrung his hands. "We have had word from Casterly Rock. Lord Balon Greyjoy has pronounced himself king and burned Lord Jaime's fleet at Lannisport."

"Fuck him!" Max unsettled his small council, Jon and Stannis and Pycelle. "We'll go to war against the bastard!"

"We will need the royal fleet in this," Stannis volunteered.

"Yeah," Max's eyes shone. "I always wanted to ride a ship. Hey, Davos!"

"Your Grace?" Davos rose uncertainly, still unaccustomed to the graces of the highborn as the pouch carrying his finger bones swayed upon his bare doublet.

"You can be captain," Max peered. "Stannis, you take the other half."

"Aye," Stannis nodded, grim in the satisfaction of his duty.

Zoe/ASHA

"Mother?" Theon asked, as Zoe glanced up from the game of _cyvasse_ at which she was losing.

"Your brother," Alannys' hand shook as she read in the light of the fireplace. "Rodrik has been slain at Seagard."

"No," Theon was in disbelief. "This can't be - "

"Don't you dare say it!" Alannys raised her hand not to Theon, but to slap Asha roundly about the face. "I won't hear no words from you, not a one!"

"Fuck off," Zoe ran to her room and bolted the door, tears streaming down her face that may have been hers or Asha's. Why did her father have to oppose her real life friends?

Clara/CERSEI

"You have to go, don't you," Clara pondered, for she knew this day would come when in her recollection, Theon's father rebelled against the crown and it was for this act that the young kraken would be taken in as ward by her husband.

"Yes," Ned nodded. "I take no joy in it, yet… it must be done. Our lands are exposed while the Iron Islands prow the western seas."

"I'll miss you," Clara promised with her eyes yet not with her touch for his soldiers were gearing up and horses lathered with saddles cinched tight in the yard where they stood.

"I will, too," Eddard held her close in a tight embrace and kissed her before he mounted his horse and headed for the gates of Winterfell. "Look after Jon and Lyarra for me."

Max/ROBERT

"Fuck me," Max said to himself as he drank a tankard of ale on board the ship as he watched Stannis' fleet mopping up the carnage. "That was some good shit."

"Your Grace?" Davos approached, for it was his ship that Max/Robert had decided to travel on and not the principal fleet of his brother's. "We shall sail through Fair Isle soon to land on Pyke for the siege."

* * *

"Starky!" Max enveloped him in a bear hug, his muscles enough to crush a lesser man with a wince and a sore handshake. "How's it going, buddy?"

"We have a war to win, Your Grace," Ned smiled thinly to the ravages and stormy weather all around them. "Let us move to invade the castle of Pyke."

* * *

Max crushed his warhammer on some hapless sod with the kraken emblazoned on his tunic as he turned his head and roared for men to follow. Siege weapons were quick to take the rear, bashing through walls and causing a cacophony of noise above the swordfight, bloodlust rushing through men's veins as the Greyjoys gave no quarter.

"Aaaaah!" Max fancied himself a berserker of sorts in other games and in this simulation it was no different; he wielded physical power beyond his own reality with veins taut on his sinewy muscles as he swung again and again, not needing Robert's aura to aid him in battle as he enjoyed the blood splattering his face and thought Ramsay not such a bad guy.

Zoe/ASHA

"We've lost," Theon moaned as he stood by his sister, both watching from the ramparts as direwolf and stag and lion banners rose. "Our father is dead or dying, by now."

"He'll live," Zoe said to herself, wishing it weren't true as she tried to keep him calm.

Max/ROBERT

"So, you fucker," Max punched Balon in the teeth where he fell on his knees, whether willingly or not. "You blew up Adam's fleet."

"Who?" Balon barked, as his words had been lost to the howling wind while he spat out a tooth.

"Tywin's ships," Max corrected himself just in time. "He was my c - friend, and you'll pay for that, fucker - "!

"Robert," Eddard lay hand on Max's shoulder before he could react. "We have his children. I suggest taking his son as ward so as to prevent rebellion in the future."

"Yeah," it dawned on Max that one of his friends was in this very castle, the ruined shell of Pyke his men had long since invaded. "Bring me the boy and girl."

Theon was shivering though not from the cold, but ten years old or so while Asha remained defiant, her eyes glinting in the stormy day as both she and her brother were forced to their knees.

"You will go to the Wall," Max pointed to Theon, a sudden idea. "Z - Asha, you will be ward to Ned Stark."

"Are you certain, Robert?" Ned asked. "The boy can come with me, it would - "

"No," Max's face was harsh. "I sent the fake prince Viserys to the Wall, now I've killed all of Greyjoy's sons save one. The kraken prince can take the black and you will take the girl; Cersei will like that."

"I do not doubt it," Ned mused, for privately he had wondered why Cersei had it in her not to balk at raising his bastard. "I will take the girl, then."

"Yeah," Max turned with glee to Balon. "Now kneel, fucker."

"You may as well take off my head," Balon was furious that all his plans had came to naught.

"Don't tempt me," Max's voice dripped blood where Balon went to his knees, in his ponderous wisdom that he might rise again to thud an arrow between this man's eyes.

Max/ROBERT

"Yeah!" Max raised his hands amidst the clamour of the crowd who greeted him at Casterly Rock, for he wanted splendour away from his lady wife who was so forbidding to him in bed and to enjoy a castle that was still months and months away from being rebuilt. "Hey Jaime, get us another round, willya?"

"Of course," Jaime shared the high table with Max/Robert and nodded to a servant who hurried forth with ale and wine for his most favoured patrons. Lord Stark was headed for Winterfell while Stannis and Davos oversaw the cleanup of the Iron Islands. "I must thank Your Grace for your generous offer to pay for the rebuild of our fleet, but my lord father left me enough gold to provision Lannisport as he saw fit."

"Course," Max acknowledged, remembering that the Lannisters were wealthy but he was in a giving mood, as he leered at some highborn babes he would love to fuck. "Hey, where's Elia?"

"She is with the twins," Jaime smiled sheepishly. "She has taken it upon herself to look after them despite having a wet nurse or two in their care."

"Lucky," Max knew that Jaime's marriage was as warm as the ale he poured down his insides while his own to Catelyn Tully was considerably cold. "Hey, I've got an idea. Let's do a tourney."

"Your Grace?" Jaime asked. "Here?"

"Nah, in Lannisport," Max continued, turning to Jaime. "Seeing as you're so rich you can pay for it!"

"Of course," Jaime dimpled with his smile, wishing he had not fallen into the trap. "It will be a tourney to remember Your Grace's heroic victory of Pyke."

"Yeah!" Max raised a mug and drank deep, as the room erupted in applause and followed suit.

ASHA/Zoe

"You need not fear, child," Ned spoke, though Asha was but thirteen. "My lady wife will take good care of you."

Asha stayed with Ned at Seagard, in separate rooms of course but those that were guarded for her older brother Rodrick had been slain here at this very castle.

"At last," Zoe cuddled the warm furs she was given to drape her bed, though Seagard was near the sea it was a better climate than Pyke which she had known all her life.

From Seagard they crossed the Twins and continued up the kingsroad, all the while Ned allowed Asha to ride alongside him for he filled her in of the history of Westeros.

She learned of Greywater Watch whose swamps were home to House Reed and Moat Cailin where men were lost prey to the lizard-lions. North of the neck she and Ned and all his men stayed at Torrhen's Square, that of House Tallhart before riding early the next day to reach Winterfell at last, snowy and cold but in a majestic feel as Asha was glad to leave her old life behind, that of her disgraced disciplinarian father and harridan old mother.

Clara/CERSEI

"Is it him?" Clara watched six year old Jon and five year old Lyarra wrestle each other over a toy. "Stop it, you two."

"Yes, my lady," Luwin inclined his head. "He rides with all his strength for Winterfell."

"Good," Clara remarked dryly, fixing Jon's hair and pulling a shift over Lyarra's head. "Come on, guys."

Zoe/ASHA

"Cersei," Ned was grave as he stood before her. "I have taken Balon Greyjoy's daughter as ward to our House. She is here on good behaviour of her father, defeated at Pyke by King Robert's men."

"Hi," Clara said awkwardly, as Zoe was a little irked. "Welcome to Winterfell."

Clara/CERSEI

"This is your room," Clara showed Zoe, a well appointed room with furs on the bed and a fire burning in the grate. Hot springs ran underneath Winterfell to keep it warm when the snows fell. "I'll get Rodrick Cassel to train you in sword and axe, I'm sure your dad didn't do you any justice."

"Mother!" cried Lyarra, running into Clara/Cersei's skirts, a gentle face with soft brown hair. "I don't want to do my lessons!"

"You have to," Clara pried Lyarra's fingers off the black fur gown which was her colour at Winterfell. "Jon will take you."

"Jon's training," Lyarra was grumpy. "You always make him train."

"You like Jon, huh?" Zoe asked, once Lyarra had been scooped up by Luwin who departed with an apologetic nod of his head.

"He won't go without," Clara was resolute. "He's going to be my boy, if not Ned's."

Max/ROBERT

"Hey, mate," Max drew Jaime aside as preparations for the tourney were underway. "Listen, I've got a kingdom to build. Mind if I borrow some of your gold?"

"Some?" Jaime raised his eyebrows, for this was no ordinary sum of gold for which he was offering. "Before my father marched he told me he trusted you in all matters large or small. I do not see any reason to deny you this loan, Your Grace."

"Awesome," Max clapped him on the back, reciting an oft used phrase from his real life that his erstwhile friends were used to hearing. "I'll pay you back, promise!"

Clara/CERSEI

"I don't want to go," Clara raised her eyebrows at the raven Max had sent inviting her to attend the tourney at Lannisport. "Asha can go if she likes."

"Yeah," Zoe assented grimly. "I'll go."

"Very well," Luwin inclined his head. "Lord Stark will attend, so I will stay with you, my lady, and help attend to the children."

"Say hi to Robert for me," Clara went back to reading a book to Jon and Lyarra.

Zoe/ASHA

"Asha," Ned rode next to her as he led what men he had brought down the kingsroad, rain pouring on them and making a grim trip of it as they reined up before the Twins. "My lady wife has told me you have been practicing with sword and bow."

"Yeap," Zoe replied.

"And how are you faring thus far?" Ned asked, as blank as stone as the Frey towers rose on either side of the river, connected by a large bridge.

"I want to become better at it," Zoe said, meaning it as the Frey men met them at the drawbridge, holding flags sporting twin castles.

"Lord Stark," Stevron Frey was in his fifties, white hair and tact for which his father was not well known for having. "It is an honor to have you stay with us."

Clara/CERSEI

"Come here, Jon," Clara beseeched as she walked through the wolfswood, men at every angle to give her better coverage.

"Mother," Jon had dark matted hair while Lyarra remained behind with Luwin. "I found a friend, look."

"That's a caterpillar, put it down," Clara wisely observed as Jon pinched the wriggling bug between his fingers and gently placed him upon a rock where he oozed to get free.

Max/ROBERT

"Hey, Tyrion!" Max ruffled his hair. "How's it going?"

"Well, Your Grace," Tyrion smiled, at sixteen years of age with the confidence of a lad who knows the love of his family and the wealth of Casterly Rock derived from his brother.

"You should fight in the tournament!" Max cheered.

"No, Your Grace, I fear it will not end well for me," Tyrion smiled churlishly. "If you would excuse me, I must attend to my lady wife."

Zoe/ASHA

With the Twins in their rear, Zoe passed Seagard on mounted horseback where her elder brother Rodrick was slain and rode to Riverrun, the homeplace of Queen Catelyn.

"My brother Brandon was betrothed to her," Ned commented. "But he was slain by the Mad King and so my father perished with him."

"Why?" Zoe frowned.

"He was to fight in a trial," Ned frowned. "Yet we were soon on forced march at Lord Arryn's behest, for the Mad King demanded my head and Robert's in return."

"Shit," Zoe replied.

"Yes," Eddard replied. "I will greet Lord Hoster and his son Edmure. You may wait if it pleases you - "

"I'll come in," Zoe decided gruffly, rather liking Eddard that he was kind and following him into the impressive castle where the Lord Paramount sat.

From Riverrun, Zoe followed Ned on horseback into the westerlands where they spent a night at Golden Tooth before continuing onto Casterly Rock, looming high above the port of Lannisport below.

Max/ROBERT

"Your Grace," Ned knelt before King Robert.

"Don't bow, man," Max brought him into a bear hug. "This is Asha, eh?"

"Yes," Zoe frowned, remembering that she should probably act the part of a Greyjoy ward without any hope. "Your Grace."

"I am glad to report that Cersei has taken a liking to her," Ned observed. "She has our master-at-arms Rodrick train her himself."

"Have a look around," Eddard's eyes crinkled in good faith as he set off to talk with Robert about the northern part of his kingdom. "I won't be long."

Zoe/ASHA

Zoe enjoyed the splendour of Lannisport, goldsmiths hard at work while at all times one or two Stark men followed her regardless for she was newly a ward of their lord.

"Who's that?" Zoe asked, as a man shook out his dark hair from the crimson helmet he wore, his mount with a mane of fire.

"His name is Prince Oberyn, the Red Viper," informed one of Stark's men. "He is brother to Prince Doran, he who governs House Martell."

Max/ROBERT

"Yeah, Jaime! C'mon!" Max shouted with enthusiasm but soon turned to defeat as the lord of Lannister broke several lances against Ser Jorah Mormont but lost in the end.

"I would name you queen of love and beauty," Jorah spoke with a rough voice as he rode up to a woman seated next to her lord father. "Lady Lynesse."

Clara/CERSEI

"How was it?" Clara asked Zoe, after embracing her lord husband in the yard while Jon and Lyarra ran around their father's legs like starving wolves.

"Not bad," Zoe admitted. "Hey, who's Oberyn?"

"He's Grace's uncle," Clara said. "Did you not see her?"

"No," Zoe shook her head grimly.

"Oh," Clara considered that. "Oberyn's a womaniser. You won't make a happy marriage with him. I was gonna marry him, y'know."

"Good for you," Zoe raised her eyebrows and walked away, leaving Clara alone with snow falling in the courtyard.

**293 AC**

Clara/CERSEI

"Where's Ned?" Clara asked Luwin.

"He has left Winterfell to take Ser Jorah Mormont," Luwin explained. "He has committed the crime of selling people to slavers."

"Oh, right," Clara sorta remembered how he ended up in Daenerys' service in another timeline.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Princess," Areo Hotah bowed before her. "Your father has a guest. It would be wise not to disturb - "

"At ease," Renly smirked, bowing before the Princess of Dorne. "It is my pleasure, young Arianne."

"Hello," Grace curtsied, blushing although Arianne would have been more forward in her pursuits. She was a little jealous though cos he got to be with Loras in the end.

**294 AC**

Max/ROBERT

Max stood in the restored sept of Baelor as among his many denizens the populace of King's Landing had returned, albeit at a snail's pace. The Red Keep was almost finished thanks in most part to the Lannisters for funding such a restoration.

At home, Max slept in separate beds to Catelyn for as Daenerys grew older, the queen's dislike continued and though she attended all official functions, Max was starting to wonder if perhaps he squandered Robert's chance at a happy marriage merely by adopting the Targaryen babe.

"Let's hold a tourney," Max sloshed his ale for though he loved his muscular frame which pillowed women often, he was too similar to Robert in that he liked drinking and whoring. "I want Arianne to come."

"Princess Arianne?" Varys simpered with a smile. "It shall be done, Your Grace."

"And let's invite Margaery," Max took another sip of ale, as Jon Arryn frowned.

"The daughter of Lord Tyrell?" Jon scratched upon his parchment. "The maid of eleven?"

"Sure!" Max cheered, though she was much too young for him to inhabit. "The more the merrier."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Grace watched as King's Landing came into view as she sailed through Blackwater Bay, where she had disembarked from Sunspear and not up the rose road as she would have liked to visit Highgarden. "I want to see Robert!"

Clara/CERSEI

"You do not have to go, Cersei," Eddard advised. "It is just another of Robert's tourneys to boost the realm's spirits."

"I don't mind," Clara bit her lip, glancing to eleven and ten year old Jon and Lyarra. "I'll bring them to court."

"Jon?" Eddard was puzzled. "But he - "

" - is your son," Clara's words were final. "He'll come with me."

"Very good, my lady wife," Eddard smiled and kissed her cheek but she blushed. "I will remain here in Winterfell."

"Asha, do you want to come along?" Clara piqued.

"Sure," Asha shrugged, having so far made great strides in her use of the sword but not so much to boost her spirits enough to enter a tourney, not as a disgraced ward of the Starks. "I'll come."

"Good," Clara called for her men to prepare the wheelhouse and all elements necessary to make the trip a safe and comfortable one.

Max/ROBERT

"Who cares?" Max argued.

"I care," Catelyn shot back at him, with as much as he remembered from the shows had he been remiss in encountering these fights almost daily within his quarters, her red hair like a firebrand of warning and the set of her shoulders reminding him of his real-life mother. "You go too far with her, Robert. She is not your daughter!"

"Her mum died and her brother's at the Wall," Max shrugged. "Her father was crazy. I've gotta give her a better life than that - "

"If you were a knight or a mere lord, that kind of sympathy might suffice," Catelyn shook with anger. "As a king, you cannot prance the dragon heir in sight of the lords who once took up Aerys' cause, least of all the Tyrells who are as wealthy as they are powerful."

"They don't care," Max argued, for he knew little of the politics of his realm besides what Jon told him. "I'm not making her my heir, Cat! You know Gendry's my boy; he's gonna inherit when I die."

"Don't say that," Catelyn turned away from him. "Already I am learning not to trust the Spider or anyone in this blasted pit of vipers. You should be rid of her before it is too late."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Come, princess," advised the septa who led her into the throne great hall where Max/Robert sat the Iron Throne, with Jon Arryn standing to one side while Barristan the Bold led the Kingsguard, nine members shining in silver plate with white cloaks.

"Good day, M - Your Grace," Grace corrected herself just in time, curtseying before the throne while Max's eyes swept her frame, disappointed Grace had chosen to play such a sexy character he would've liked to bed alongside Margaery. "Um, sorry."

"You are welcome here, Princess Arianne," Jon Arryn spoke up, while Max drank a tankard of ale on the throne. "You will be granted apartments in the Maidenvault for your pleasure."

"Thanks," Grace's cheeks coloured, at all the handsome men and smiling ladies who wished her well as she joined them in the gallery. "Hey, where's Clara?"

"Who?" her septa frowned, leaning closer to hear.

Clara/CERSEI

"C'mon," Clara rolled her eyes as her wheelhouse had broken down, one of the wheels stuck in a rut. "Urgh. Fine. I'll walk."

"Ride with me," Zoe suggested.

"No, I prefer my own horse," Clara replied. "I should've brought her."

Clara and Zoe reached King's Landing in less than an hour, Stark men following her while some remained behind to call upon a local tradesman to help them in their plight. Jon and Lyarra glanced up at all the sights around them, washerwomen shaking out their laundry and prostitutes standing under eaves, inviting knights and brigands to come play.

"I don't know the way," Clara admitted, as she and Zoe walked within the encircling safety of Stark soldiers, Jon and Lyarra firmly holding onto Clara/Cersei's hands.

It was not long before an honor guard rode out to meet them, most likely arranged by Varys who seemed to know everyone who came and went in the city. Clara followed the honor guard into the courtyard and to the Red Keep, where she and Zoe were granted a private audience with Max in the royal apartments of Maegor's Holdfast.

"Hey," Max grinned, motioning for Barristan to close the door. "Took you long enough."

"Yeah, my carriage broke down," Clara shrugged unapologetically. "What's to eat?"

"Where's the queen?" Zoe wisely asked, for she thought it suspect that the king would entertain his best friend's wife and ward alone in his quarters.

"She's praying in the sept," Robert chewed on a trencher dipped in gravy. "With my son."

"Your son?" Zoe frowned.

"Yeah!" Max's face lit up, his mouth full of food as he chewed. "Hey, Barristan! Get Gendry in here!"

"At once, Your Grace," Barristan opened the door with a nod and a turn of his head to a page waiting outside. "The small council is meeting. Would you like - "

"Nah," Max waved it off. "Jon can do it. Speaking of Jon, where is he?"

"I left the children to play with some Stark soldiers," Clara replied. "He'll be fine."

"Yeah, the realm's at peace," Max jeered, reminding her as he took a swig of ale. "All thanks to me."

"Thanks to Tywin," Clara reminded him dryly, for without Adam she would not be married to Eddard. "I asked Ned how he would take the capital if I knew about the wildfire plot and he suggested starving the besieged army from both land and sea."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Hey, look!" Grace/Arianne pointed. "That must be Robert's son."

"Yes, it's the prince," the septa advised her. "Prince Gendry."

"Oh," Grace replied, not remembering him at all. "Hi!"

Gendry was startled and did a little bow but one of the Kingsguard bent to whisper something in his ear and he quickened his pace in the direction of the Red Keep.

"Arianne!" her septa was shocked. "Come with me back to the castle, now!"

"No," Grace shook her off, feeling Arianne's rebelliousness well up deep within her. "I want to go exploring. Leave me alone."

Max/ROBERT

"Your Grace," Barristan bowed before the king, for he had become the victor in tilts which had seen lesser men fall, not that many remained alive in Westeros who could best the Lord Commander who had seen so much at his age.

"Good job, mate," Max tried to keep cheery with all eyes on him, but the crowd had become muted when he had allowed Daenerys Targaryen to sit beside his son Gendry on the dais. Catelyn had pursed her lips and all but become aflame as her hair while Max presented Barristan with the honors and gold as due his reward.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Can I go to Highgarden, now?" Grace asked her septa.

"I cannot pretend your behaviour has not unsettled me, Arianne," the septa frowned as their possessions were loaded into the ship due to return them to Sunspear. "Yet the king has kindly offered to take you himself, during his travels where he intends to visit each of the Seven Kingdoms. In this case I must consent."

"Yay!" Grace hugged her septa and headed towards the horses and royal carriage where Catelyn was to sit and the preparations were being made for the escort.

Max/ROBERT

"What?" Max asked, not displeased for he had hunted in the kingswood with young Gendry at his side while Catelyn took walks in the forest with all of them guarded by Kingsguard soldiers at all times.

"Catelyn doesn't like me," Grace sounded sad.

"She probably thinks I'm trying to sleep with you," Max noted. "Arianne's hot, but you're not."

* * *

"Your Grace," Mace smiled, puffing out his chest to receive the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. "We are pleased to welcome you to Highgarden - "

"Thanks," Max swung off his horse as his squire rushed forward to help him. "This is my wife Catelyn and my son Gendry."

"Hello, Lord Tyrell," Catelyn was gracious and hid behind her veneer of formality. "Highgarden rises beautiful among all the jewels in the south."

"That's very kind of you to say, my queen," Mace's cheeks flushed and his ego swelled with the honor being done to him. "And young Gendry. The prince is hearty and hale, I see."

"Yes," Catelyn smiled with genuine emotion. "He is my boy and I love him dearly."

"Oh, hey," Max turned to Grace. "This is Arianne, princess of Dorne."

"I do not believe I have had the pleasure," Mace kissed her hand and gestured around. "Let me introduce you to the rest of my family. You must be tired from the ride, Your Grace."

Grace/ARIANNE

"My husband is glad of your company," Catelyn said stonily. "He says it himself."

"He's cool," Grace replied, lacking the guile Catelyn was glad to see was not on her features.

"I am going to the sept," Catelyn offered her hand warmly. "Would you like to pray?"

"Sure!" Grace said, glad the queen had decided to like her and following along.

Max/ROBERT

"Your Grace," Margaery Tyrell curtsied before the king. "It is an honor."

"Hey," Max grinned cheekily, the lust in his loins plain to see. "You have a sweet daughter."

"Your Grace is too kind," Mace offered a little bow. "This is my wife Alerie, my sons Willas and Garlan and Loras, and my mother, the Lady Olenna."

"Mace often forgets to include me in his counsel," Olenna wisely observed from her perch where two soldiers stood to either side of her, named Left and Right as befit their positions. "Men never learn. I'm glad you did, young Robert. You took the crown from that madman and I congratulate you for it."

Grace/ARIANNE

"I worry for my husband," Catelyn sat in one of the many courtyards in Highgarden where flowers bloomed and bees buzzed and the aroma was overwhelming. "He takes this girl everywhere he goes. It was only for Lord Tyrell's siding with the Mad King that he did not take her with us on this particular journey."

"I'm sure he's trying to be a good king," Grace dampened. "He's a good guy."

"You don't know him as I do," Catelyn's voice became sharp. "He drinks, he whores, he fathers bastards - as all men high and low born do, yet - "

"Don't worry," Grace said, placing her hand on Catelyn's. "She's OK."

Catelyn nodded and glanced away. Daenerys had sat next to her son at the tourney in which Ser Barristan had emerged the victor, with her silvery blonde hair and purple eyes, every man glancing at her yet away when Catelyn cast her gaze upon them.

"For all the king has taken from her, he has tried his hardest to make her welcome," Catelyn replied. "She will never be truly happy knowing he killed one of her brothers and exiled another, yet she does not go hungry or without garment and has servants to attend her. She is princess in all but name."

"Being a princess is hard," Grace screwed up her nose. "You have to marry who you're told. Maybe it's the best life for her, to be a ward and grow up living a sort of life she might have lived?"

"I worry too much," Catelyn shook her head. "I feared that Robert's hold on the Iron Throne would be disastrous for him to show a bit of mercy. But what could he do, strike off the girl's head as an infant?"

"No," Grace was glad Catelyn had someone to confide in; she seemed to need it desperately. "You can talk to me anytime, you know."

"Thank you, child," Catelyn said affectionately, giving her hand a squeeze. "You are my first true friend in King's Landing."

* * *

"Princess," Willas Tyrell bowed, albeit leaning on his cane. "I have been told you enjoy riding - "

"Aw!" Grace saw the beautiful ponies and horses in the stables of Highgarden. "Can I ride one?"

"Of course," Willas' eyes crinkled in a smile as she returned in riding greens and took to the saddle like a pro.

"Hmm," Grace saw that he himself could not ride and despite her rising excitement dismounted. "Maybe I'll walk today."

"Walk?" Willas frowned, glancing at the soldiers and servants who had been prepared to follow them into the forest if need be. "We have all day, if it is time you are worrying about."

"Um, no," Grace was a bad liar unlike Arianne. "Do you want to look at the gardens?"

"As you wish," Willas inclined his head and she walked beside him glad to make him feel a bit more comfortable while the servants returned the horses to the stables.

**296 AC**

Max/ROBERT

"Robert," Catelyn interrupted the sparring match Max and Barristan were practising in the yard. "I have had a raven from Riverrun. My father has become ill."

"Aw shit," Max looked to his Kingsguard, passing Barristan his sword. "I'll come with you."

"There is no need," Catelyn pursed her lips. "Your place is here. My journey is a solitary one."

"Take Barristan with you," Max smirked as he rapped the old man on the plate armor. "He's beat me too often for me to want to see his face 'round here anymore."

"Your Grace," Barristan smiled. "I will escort the queen as you command. Eight of my fellow Kingsguard shall be enough to protect you I trust?"

"I'll beat you when I get back!" Max goaded, not unaware his constant drinking had lessened the swell of his muscles of which he was so fond.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Hi, Father," Grace was cheery as she curtsied to her father in the Water Gardens of Sunsepar.

"Arianne," Doran closed in with Areo Hotah nearby ensuring they would not be overheard. "Tell me. Did you meet young prince Gendry?"

"Yeah," Grace replied, faltering that her father had so swiftly moved to other matters of state. "Why?"

"I will propose that the two of you be wed," Doran's eyes glinted. "So that one day you might be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms - "

"No way!" Grace shouted, the fury of Arianne rising up. "I'm not marrying a kid."

"Quiet your voice," Doran pleaded, not without an iron fury. "The Tyrells will be plotting the same as we speak. Likely their maid Margaery will go to bed with Gendry sooner than we can plan. We must ensure that you hold his heart and not the Tyrell girl."

"No," Grace was breathless, the fear of her real life father becoming apparent when Doran became his angriest. "Father, I don't want to."

"I intend for Quentyn to rule Dorne when I die of old age," Doran replied. "You will have a say in the running of this realm. You are a beautiful and sweet girl, Arianne. If you try your hardest you can win this boy to your cause before it is too late."

"No," Grace shook her head, running off to her rooms where she cried into her pillow, weaker than Arianne would allow. "I'll tell Max. He'll make sure it's not me Gendry gets married to!"

**297 AC**

Clara/CERSEI

"I must go," Ned told her one day. "A man of the Night's Watch has fled his service. I must take him in for a deserter."

"Alright," Clara chewed her lip, knowing this must mean the start of the TV series, at least. "Come back soon."

Clara watched him ride off then spotted her daughter Lyarra crying quietly to herself, Jon's arms wrapped around her shoulders. She was thirteen while Jon was fourteen.

"He won't be long," Clara said, who knew how hard it was to see her real life father go.

"It's not that," Lyarra wiped her tears, her hair long and brown down her back. "It's Domeric. He's been found dead."

"Who?" Clara glanced to Jon.

"Lord Bolton's son," Jon replied. "His only living heir. Now he has no one to succeed him."

"Oh," Clara considered. "What about Ramsay?"

Max/ROBERT

"Your Grace, I have most grievous news," Varys wrung his hands in Max/Robert's chambers, stinking of perfume. "Your sweet ward Daenerys has been taken on a ship to the Free Cities."

"What?" Max roared, all nonchalance forgotten. "By whom?"

"By the queen," Varys hid his expression well as Max was as maddened as a bull. "She caught the prince, well… sharing his affections with the young girl and she could bear the burden no longer, I fear."

"Where is she?" Max was furious, not least due to that if Daenerys was sent over the sea, he was powerless to act should she find Drogo and dragons and dromonds.

Zoe/ASHA

Zoe rested on the hilt of her sword, planted into the ground as she watched Ned stand over the quivering corpse of the black brother who had forsaken his vows and his blood spurted upon the ground as the head with silvery hair rolled in the dirt.

"Poor lad," Ned bemoaned, only to Asha. "From Benjen's reports he was ever quarreling."

Max/ROBERT

"Why?" Max shouted as he burst in on Catelyn, who was praying for her son in the sept of Baelor, Baratheon men stationed at the exits to ensure she was not disturbed and now Kingsguard adding to the protection as well.

"She led him on, Robert," Catelyn rose solemnly in the sunlight filtering through the panes above. "I will not see a prince of Westeros - "

"You had no right!" Max raged like a bull. "Do you know what this means, woman? She'll go over and she won't come back - or worse, she'll come back to reclaim her throne!"

"I doubt that," Catelyn drew herself up. "She has only enough gold to last her the trip - "

"You want her to die in some whorehouse?" Max barraged, spittle landing on Catelyn's nape but she did not let down her guard. "She'll be raped by a hundred sellswords if she doesn't make it far enough to be some fat lord's consort."

"You could have sent her to the Silent Sisters," Catelyn called, as Max headed for the doors, Barristan coming a close second. "I warned you, Robert. But no more."

"I want her gone," Max ordered. "She is to return to Riverrun at once."

"Yes, Your Grace," Barristan did not hesitate in her duty. "I will tell anyone who asks that she is visiting her father who remains in poor health. What about the prince?"

"He's staying with me," Max said bitterly. "He doesn't need his mother anymore."

Zoe/ASHA

"C'mon, Snow," Zoe deflected Jon's blade with ease, for she was older and had more practice. "Let's see some action."

Clara/CERSEI

"I don't want to have another baby," Clara rolled on her side one night, golden hair around the fur coverlets while she laid a hand upon Ned's hairy chest.

Max/ROBERT

"Your Grace," Barristan gruffly informed the king who sat atop the Iron Throne. "Ser Edmure has arrived at the Red Keep."

"Show him in, then," Max was in a foul mood, ordering Varys to make all the necessary arrangements to track down Daenerys and return her alive, for a hefty reward. "Where is he?"

"I am present, Your Grace," Edmure hurried into the hall, bending down on one knee. "Please, Your Grace, the queen must return to her place at your side."

"No," Max was furious. "She went against my direct orders. Here the girl would be contained, but now she is fodder for a rebel alliance on my watch. I will ask - no, demand - an annulment from the High Septon himself."

"Sire, please," Edmure was penitent. "Catelyn is ever a gracious queen and the Tullys your faithful servants. Please rethink this course of action for the safety of the realm - "

"Is that a threat?" Max bellowed. "You can return to Riverrun, Edmure, and stay there for all I care. Catelyn is not to see her son until I decide it."

* * *

"So, any news?" Max demanded.

"No, Your Grace," Varys looked sad as the members of the council could only wonder at his statements of fact. "I have paid a man, Ser Jorah who was exiled for selling slavers to return her along with help from some of our friends across the Narrow Sea, but it seems she has wedded Khal Drogo of the Dothraki, for which such a task would be monumental."

"Fuck!" Max banged his fist on the table. "I can't ship my men over there to fight him. If Tywin was here he'd know what to do."

"You place too much trust in Lord Tywin," Stannis said gruffly. "The man died at the hands of the Mad King - "

"Nah," Max shot back. "You shut up about that. I'm gonna head to the rookery."

Clara/CERSEI

"Max actually wrote a letter in his own hand," Clara replied, disbelieving as Luwin stood in the room amid the caw of the ravens which hid her slip of the tongue. "He wants to find Daenerys who Catelyn set free from King's Landing."

"The Targaryen girl?" Luwin was puzzled.

"Yep," Clara penned a reply to the best of her recollection. "Send him this."

Max/ROBERT

"Here's what we'll do, lads," Max settled down at the small council, where his assembled lords were gathered, among them Tyrion who had been appointed master of coin instead of Jon Arryn's proposed pick of Petyr Baelish. "Khal Drogo's gonna die at some point. Send word to Jorah he can take Dany when she loses it all."

"How can you be so sure, Your Grace?" Varys couldn't help but frown at this.

"Trust me," Max was assured as in real life he was still a teen kid with the belligerence of youth. "I've got this."

Clara/CERSEI

"Jon?" Clara glanced up from where she was learning to use the bow, with Rodrik the master at arms teaching her patiently as the bowstring twanged and the arrow fell.

"Mother," Jon looked nervous in his jerkin and with his hair curly at fourteen years of age. "Could I talk to you, privately?"

"Sure," Clara handed the bow to Rodrik who bowed and gave her leave as she swept up the stairs into her chambers where Eddard was in the great hall talking with Lords Umber and Bolton while Lyarra was out horse riding. "What is it?"

"I would like to marry Asha," Jon admitted. "I am a bastard and she the daughter of a rebel king. It would not upset the northern lords - "

Clara had tuned him out and her eyes glazed over as she turned on her heel.

Zoe/ASHA

"Did you sleep with my son?" Clara raged, as fierce as the rain which began to patter around them all while Zoe practised her swordplay against a wooden post.

"No," Zoe's ears reddened. "Who told you that?"

"He wants to marry you," Clara was a blaze. "Where did he get that idea?"

"I dunno," Zoe shrugged, but inwardly pleased that he thought her of the honor. "I'm older than him."

"He's sick on puppy love," Clara spat. "Make him forget it."

"You think I'm not good enough for him?" Zoe rounded on her. "We're supposed to be friends. Or are you keeping Jon for yourself?"

"No," Clara was in denial. "Just leave him alone."

"No, I won't," Zoe said wryly. "If he loves me that's as good as I'm getting in this simulation. When he gets older I'll like him too."

"No you won't," Clara warned. "I don't want you near him."

"Don't threaten me," Zoe pointed her sword at Clara. "You'll regret it - "

"No," Clara said, in the soft tones of Cersei Lannister. "You will."

With that she stalked off, black furs swirling while Zoe hacked at the wooden post with all her strength to denude her rage and flights of fancy.

Clara/CERSEI

"You would like to send a raven, my lady?" Luwin asked, leading her up to the rookery.

"Yes," Clara took the quill and parchment offered. "To Robert Baratheon."

Max/ROBERT

"Just as you said, Your Grace," Varys was somewhat worried though he hid it well. "Khal Drogo is dead. Daenerys' khalasar has abandoned her to the Red Wastes where Jorah found her quite alone."

"Has he got her?" Max was desperate.

"He has," Varys' smile was wry. "Yet he reports that she returns by sail with three newly hatched dragons."

"I'll deal with that later," Max disregarded the immediate clamour that rose, willing to keep them under lock and chain or train them like that animated movie he once saw. "What else?"

"Lord Tyrell writes that he wishes to wed Margaery to the prince," Pycelle revealed the scroll from his low hanging sleeves. "Most interesting… "

"Why not me?" Max was as petulant as a child.

"Any child she has with you will be second in the line of succession," Pycelle replied.

"Fuck," Max spat, for he envisioned his future bachelorhood to gain some of the highborn hotties of Westeros, yet for all his triumph on the Trident, he was stuck with the cold fish of Riverrun. "Margaery won't marry Gendry. Arianne will."

"Princess Arianne?" Pycelle frowned. "Hmm, this will certainly make strong our alliance with the Dornish… I have another raven, Your Grace, from Winterfell."

"What's happened there?" Max frowned.

"Nothing, Your Grace," Pycelle produced the letter, reading it aloud. "The Lady Cersei wishes that you legalise her husband's bastard son, Jon Snow."

"Oh," Max considered. "Yeah. Invite him here and let's do it."

**299 AC**

Zoe/ASHA

"You knew this would happen," Zoe was puce. "Now that he's not a bastard anymore he can't marry a disgraced ward like me."

"He wouldn't marry you anyway," Clara said snidely, glad to be rid of Zoe as she climbed onto her horse with help from Rodrik.

"It's a good thing he's being legitimised, after all," Zoe's fury spilled over the top. "After all, you're the one who told me who his real mother is."

Ned stared in blank shock at Zoe, then to Clara.

"Cersei? What does she mean?" Ned's fears were teetering on the edge as Clara averted her gaze and all soldiers and sundry gave them room to talk in quiet amidst the yard of loud clangor and hubbub.

"I told her," Clara willed her lips to to stay firmly pressed together.

"But how could you know?" Ned asked, willing it that be merely the tale of Ashara Dayne he had shut up from some visiting tradesmen.

"I don't know," Clara glanced away. "But I know he's your nephew and who he is."

That was all Ned needed to hear. His shoulders slumped as Clara shook with guilt that she had been repressing for a long time, more in her real life than her fictional own.

"I must be off," Ned took with his horse to Jon, while Clara and Zoe stood abandoned in the yard.

"You bitch," Clara lashed out with a slap to Zoe which shocked her suddenly as she took to her horse to follow Ned in earnest. "I'm not staying here with you."

Clara/CERSEI

With only Ned privy to the secret, Clara kept her distance and rode in the train. Jon knew better than to approach her when she was like this, silently brooding with her nose in the air. All and sundry guarded her and the Stark clan as they made their way south of the Neck and down the goldroad, stopping at the inn at the crossroads for the night.

"Who else did you tell?" Ned asked over the roaring fire in the grate when they were alone in their room.

"King Robert," Clara had faced her fears and felt a twinge as Eddard's expression turned to one of horror. "But he won't tell anyone. He's probably forgotten - "

Eddard's face was one of pity, for Clara was confusing Max the boy and Robert the Targaryen hater. He rose from his seat to ask Jon how he was doing while Clara wished she could stick her hands in the fire and be cleansed of this awful sin like poison coursing through her belly.

Max/ROBERT

"Hey!" Max slapped Ned on the back. "Tomorrow we'll make your son a Stark."

"Your Grace, I must speak with you," Ned asked, as Max invited him into his palatial appointed rooms and the doors were closed securely with the Kingsguard standing outside. "My lady wife has told me… she has shared the secret with you that Jon is not my son."

"Oh. Yeah," Max barely remembered. "What about it?"

"Surely it may trouble you to know," Ned extended his palms. "That his father is the Targaryen you crushed in the chest with a warhammer. That his mother is the woman you once fancied."

"It's not like I was gonna marry her," Max argued. "Besides, I took in Daenerys. Who cares if Jon's a Targaryen? He'll be a Stark now anyway, heir to Winterfell not to… wherever the Targaryens lived."

"Dragonstone is their ancestral seat," Ned said, surprised Max had such poor memory as he nodded his head in feigned remembrance. "If Jon lives, then he is the rebel heir to the throne before the dragon girl."

"Nah," Max disagreed. "He's the last person to rebel against me. He's looked after well by you and Cersei and besides, most of the realm's on my side. Jaime owes me cos his father talked me up. Dorne will be on our side once Gendry marries Arianne. The only House who doesn't like me is the Tullys and I don't give a shit about them… "

Grace/ARIANNE

"The king has requested it," Doran said with grim satisfaction. "You cannot refuse him - "

"You don't want me to refuse him," Grace pouted. "You want me to marry the man child."

"He is fifteen, no longer a child, Arianne," Doran shook his head. "You will be well looked after in King's Landing."

Clara/CERSEI

"He seems like he doesn't care," Ned lay in bed with Clara for what had been their coupling of repentance to wash away the bad blood between them.

"He's got Daenerys on his side now," Clara pointed out, glad Ned had forgiven her but not so quick about Asha, whom she brooded on with Cersei's malignance. "Jon would never betray his home and family."

Max/ROBERT

"Father," Gendry began. "We never talked about why our mother sent Daenerys away."

"Yeah, she's hot," Max grinned, then souring. "Not your mother. Not anymore."

"Don't talk about her like that," Gendry's expression was pained. "I… I felt something for Daenerys. She was all alone in the world. Now she has returned a widow and come into her own."

"Yeah," Max scratched his head. "You looking forward to your marriage?"

"I know little of Princess Arianne," Gendry admitted. "Yet all who know her speak of a kind soul. I have also heard Lord Tyrell offered his daughter Margaery to me as well."

"Don't worry about that," Max replied, a shadow over his face as knights rode past and commoners scrabbled in the dirt. "Arianne's the best wife you'll ever have, sweet and honest. I'll get myself a queen soon."

Zoe/ASHA

Twenty three years of age, Zoe/Asha fought fiercely with sword and axe while Rodrik Cassel was castellan of Winterfell while Ned, Cersei and Jon were visiting south.

"Are you alright?" Lyarra asked, a sweet and pious girl as she led her horse into the stables.

"Fine," Zoe said grumpily, throwing her axe down in rage. She had risked all telling Ned of Jon's true parentage and now he was too highborn to marry her in return. Worse still Clara would be on the warpath and soon she would not be welcome in Winterfell…

Clara/CERSEI

Clara stood with grim pride and rose with all the others in the pew as Jon Snow was named a Stark and rose with the touch of a sword on his shoulder from King Robert, sunlight streaming through the panes of the sept of Baelor as Jon became the heir to Winterfell, above Lyarra who was a year younger.

"I'm proud of you," Clara hugged Jon close, feeling his warmth and the sweat that had come about from how nervous he was from all this lustre.

"Thank you, Mother," Jon had found it easy to call her that for even his real mother in his mind could not have been more kind, though she had a gentle face he knew. "And Father."

"Good on you, son," Eddard smiled, embracing his son in a hug. "The bad news is, you'll have to learn all about lordship."

Max/ROBERT

"Is she here?" Max asked excitedly as his small council members rose upon his entry.

"She is, Your Grace," Pycelle nodded in the affirmative as the Kingsguard took their positions outside the heavy doors. "We have found suitable accommodations for her dragonspawn as they cannot yet properly breathe fire."

"Your Grace, I humbly request a private audience," Jon met Max's eyes.

"Leave us," Max ordered and so it was done, only the king and his Hand in the room.

"Your Grace," Jon moved round the table to place his hands on Max/Robert's shoulders. "I have known you since you were a little boy. I beseech you to listen to me now - "

"What?" Max frowned, hating having to shut up and listen to an elder.

"You must send the girl away, or at least get rid of her dragons," Jon lifted a hand as Max opened his mouth in protest. "The power players already suspect that Daenerys' escape was a ploy to gain dragon eggs from across the Narrow Sea to cement your rule."

"What!" Max was aghast. "I killed the Targaryens, why would I support them now?"

"As any man might be, dragons are a susceptible weapon against all," Jon sighed. "Who hasn't dreamed of flying on one or watching their flames engulf the enemy?"

"I'm keeping them," Max was puce, like a little child. "And her, too."

"If you keep the girl and her dragons in the capital, people will say you are under her influence much the way Tytos Lannister was with his mistress. If you marry the girl off to remove her claim, her husband may use the dragons on you or do them a mercy you could not, and people will call you craven and stupid."

"Fuck em," Max went redder. "So, you want me to kill the dragons?"

"Not only that," Jon Arryn's tone counseled patience. "You must make an example of her. She can be your ward no longer, she must marry to remove her claim and you cannot keep her as consort in case Prince Gendry falls prey to illness and you must legitimise a half-Targaryen bastard."

"I didn't rescue her to make her life a misery," Max's cheeks were tinged with pink. "I'm the king!"

"If you want to stay king, ideally kill the dragons and exile the girl to the Silent Sisters," Jon Arryn shrugged. "Else, marry her to Ser Jorah as a just reward for his efforts and allow him a manse within the city limits. He is no longer heir to his House and she will be under Varys' surveillance at all times."

"This is bullshit," Max spat. "It's just 'cause she's a Targaryen, not a lost girl - "

"If the girl were not comely, Your Grace," Jon said slowly. "You would have sent her to the Silent Sisters long before she became a problem, wouldn't you?"

Max turned to him in a jealous rage and flung up from his chair as Jon Arryn's eyes burned into his back, bumping past the Kingsguard and stomping down the spiral staircase at length.

* * *

"Your Grace?" Daenerys turned, her three dragons playing on her lap or elsewise around her shoulders and upon the balcony of the gardens where she sat, babies too young to breathe fire but else she wore leathers in honor of her place as Khaleesi by Drogo's side. "I am sorry your guards caught me last night. I thought if I stared upon the stars I would see him riding in the sky."

"It's alright," Max shook it off, where Drogon climbed onto his shoulder, biting at his ear harder than was normal. "Dany, let's get married."

"What?" Daenerys' shock was real. "But I am your ward, as grateful as I am that you took me in once Drogo had died. I had nothing left in the world and still you scoop me up into safety. Yet I see you more as a father - "

"What? No!" Max shouted. "I'm only late thirties. Not an old man."

"It pleases me that you would think so," Daenerys touched Max affectionately on the hand which gave him an instant boner. "Yet I cannot bear children other than the three you see before you."

"That's good, then," Max shrugged defiantly. "My lords won't think I'm trying to supplant my own heir with one of yours."

"Yes," Daenerys agreed faintly. "But what kind of queen would I be? Merely your consort, to keep safe? I am already safe, Your Grace. You must know I love you in my own way."

"C'mon," Max was maddened with lust as he reached to graze her knee with his hand but Drogon bit into his bicep. "Ow!"

"If you will it, then I will marry you," Daenerys was suddenly stolid. "But I will not sleep with you until I am ready. Unless you have forgotten, I have lost a husband and a son who might have been. I will tell you when the time is right for me to know a man again."

"Sure," Max agreed, his ardor dampening for a babe like Daenerys surely needed a good dicking. "I'll wait for ya."

Grace/ARIANNE

Grace stood in the sept of Baelor with Oberyn walking her down the aisle for Doran was in no position to walk, while Max/Robert stood proudly at the head of the pew while Catelyn he had begrudged to witness the ceremony, at Daenerys' insistence who had asked that she not attend so as to avoid friction.

"Lord husband," Catelyn rose tall above all others in her pride.

"Not for long," Max glanced away as the music began.

Gendry removed Grace/Arianne's bride's cloak in colours of gold and red and yellow, placing one of black and yellow upon her shoulders to signify she was now under his protection. Though he was fifteen he was almost of Grace's heights for she was in her early twenties.

Gendry dipped his head to kiss Grace who enjoyed his touch for this was the first man she had kissed in this simulation and all the crowd was clapping while the music changed and Grace was dimpled and smiling to take his hand out into the bright sunlight where the commons awaited and threw up their hands in a hearty hale of cheer and cry.

Zoe/ASHA

With Rodrik as castellan and her only friend in this winter wasteland where Clara had gone south with Eddard and Jon, Asha took it upon herself to steal a horse and ride for the Wall, through the wolfswood with only her sword and axe by her side and a full waterskin to last her the trip.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Are you alright?" Grace asked, some days after their bedding ceremony where Gendry had been sweet where she expected to receive no pleasure at all.

"It's my grandfather," Gendry's lips grew thin. "Lord Hoster has died in his bed."

"Oh," Grace reached out an arm to soothe him, his biceps and wiry frame. "I'm sorry."

"I must attend the funeral," Gendry was resolved. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course," Grace hugged him, the bulk of his warmth pleasing to her.

Max/ROBERT

"Nah, I'm not going to his funeral," Max shook off the accusation as he sat seated among his lords in the small council, debating matters of state now that the dragon princess had returned to the capital with her baby dragons in tow. "Who cares about him."

"It would be a show of good faith," Jon Arryn pointed out.

"No," Max's face was hard as flint. "Next!"

"You wanted me to remind you, Your Grace," Pycelle said ponderously as all present tried not to roll their eyes or show their impatience for his meandering talk. "You, er, had an announcement?"

"Oh, yeah," Max's eyes lit up. "I'm gonna wed Daenerys Targaryen."

"You're what?" Stannis growled, rising from the table only to pound his fist upon it.

"Sit down," Max ordered with malice in his eyes. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"You condemn yourself with your own words, Robert," Stannis was cruel. "How long do you think your reign will last if you marry the pretender princess? How many men will stay by your side when your dragons eat their livestock and burn their holdfasts?"

"All of them, if they want to live," Max replied calmly. "You're stupid to say so aloud. Now sit down."

"No," Stannis shook his head. "I have lived my life long enough seeing you make bad decisions from the moment you wore that crown. You make a mockery of fair rule, evade all attempts to speak with the smallfolk and lords who hold you so dear, you send away the queen for doing what is only justice and marry this girl because it is her only condition if you wish to sleep with her - "

"Shut up!" Max purpled, at the same time Barristan burst in with all his Kingsguard. "Fuck off, then, if you don't like it!"

"I will," Stannis' malice gleamed in his eyes as he marched towards the door while Barristan and his soldiers were left agape.

"Your Grace," Barristan hesitated. "Is everything alright?"

"Lord Stannis needs time to cool down," Jon interceded while Max collected his rage. "I will see to it that he makes no rash decisions."

"Good," Max lounged on the chair which faced them all with ease. "I'm the king, he better remember that."

Clara/CERSEI

Clara rode with Eddard who was in deep conversation with Jon on his other side. He was a Stark in looks and temperament and she couldn't be prouder of him.

"What?" Clara interrupted, as both Ned and Jon turned to face her. "You'll what?"

"Marry, Mother," Jon said, glancing to Eddard. "Now I am a Stark, I must find a wife."

"Yes," Eddard nodded proudly. "I can think of a Karstark or a Mormont girl for you yet."

Max/ROBERT

"To the king!" cried the crowd. "To His Grace!"

Max raised his goblet in salute to himself then drank deeply, while his wife Daenerys sat beside him, wearing a silk dress at odds with her usual garb of Dothraki leather.

"Your Grace," Davos bowed before Max who smirked. "I bring you good tidings on this day. This is my wife Marya and these are my sons - "

"Howsit," Max mumbled. "You seen Stannis?"

"No, I have not," Davos shook his head. "He gave his excuses and left early, I'm afraid."

"Oh well," Max downed more wine. "Let's see some dancers!"

Max watched while Daenerys sat beside him, all eyes trained on her for this was the queen consort who would rule the Seven Kingdoms by her husband's side. She had been a Khaleesi by the fierce warlord Drogo's side and now she had snaked her way into the storm lord's clutches who held her so dear and had promised to do so in the sept before them all.

"I take you, Daenerys," Max had grinned cheekily as he wound the black and yellow cape around her shoulders while she remained poignant, no longer the scared girl she had been when she had been secreted across the sea to be sold to the Dothraki for her livelihood.

"Khaleesi," spoke up one of Dany's handmaids, one who had attended her during her time with the Dothraki.

"You must not call me that," Dany insisted as Max was quite deaf but to the dancers who came from across the Narrow Sea in exotic silks and scents with their bodies lithe and tanned. "I am Your Grace to anyone who asks. I am the queen consort to King Robert."

"You will have a great say in castle matters, K - Your Grace," continued the handmaid as though nothing awry had been said. "You will rule here as you did beside Drogo."

"This is different," Daenerys said in a hushed whisper. "Here the people do not like me, they see me poisoning the king and giving him control over my dragons so he might cow his enemies to his will. I had to lock them away for fear they might offend our guests."

"You will be alright, Your Grace," her handmaid took Dany's hand who felt tears almost grasp at her eyes. "You have risen high in the ranks of the Dothraki horde and I believe you will do the same here."

"Thank you," Dany squeezed the girl's palm then turned to the king who kissed her on the mouth, feeling his burden grow that she knew she would be called upon to service.

Clara/CERSEI

"She's gone," Clara said doubtfully, surveying Winterfell while Eddard helped the stablemaster with the horses and Jon practiced with his sword in the yard.

"Aye," Ned nodded. "Rodrik thinks she might have gone to the Wall. I will write to Benjen and Lord Commander Mormont to see if she turns up."

"Is this bad?" Clara paled, remembering Theon Turncloak. "Will she go back to the Greyjoys?"

"No," Eddard stepped towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders while Clara held her tongue. "You did no wrong."

Zoe/ASHA

"Where have you been?" Theon asked, among the stewards while Lord Commander Mormont patrolled the halls and a fat boy waddled with logs for the maester's chambers.

"Winterfell," Zoe said sourly, watching Theon clear the scraps from the great hall in which all the Night's Watch ate. "How's it been?"

"How's it been?" Theon repeated with distaste. "You've got some bloody nerve. I've had to work tooth and nail for everything I've got here, and you saunter up in your furs and steel and ask me how I'm doing?"

"I didn't ask to get taken from Pyke," Zoe's teeth gritted.

"Aye, but you didn't mind the hot springs beneath and the protection of a goodly man like Ned Stark," Theon spat. "Why were you chosen and not me?"

"I dunno," Zoe shrugged. "I'm here now, aren't I? What do you need done?"

"Help with this for a start," Theon couldn't help but a smirk broke over his handsome features as Zoe helped clear the table of mostly empty goblets and crumbs of trenchers. "You better watch yourself. These boys take vows of chastity and some are rapers."

"I can handle myself," Zoe hefted the axe. "I'm a Greyjoy, after all."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Are you alright?" Grace asked Gendry, who stood on the pier watching as the boat containing Hoster Tully was laid to rest, floating on the Trident as all composed themselves while it prepared to depart.

"It was good of you to come," Gendry wrapped an arm around her and held her close, while Catelyn eyed them both and smiled with pride though her back remained erect.

"No worries," Grace sniffed, watching as Edmure fired several lit arrows but his uncle the Blackfish took it upon himself to accurately line up a shot which set the pyre ablaze.

Max/ROBERT

"Babe, what's up?" Max asked, turning to the crowd of the wedding reception.

"Ser Barristan," Daenerys shielded her eyes against the glare of the sunlight as she rose.

"Your Grace," Barristan nodded to each in turn. "You better see this."

Max followed the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard as his soldiers grouped around him and Daenerys; he in royal garb where usually he could be found in battle armor while Daenerys' flowing silks and golden hair were enough to make any man fall in love.

Max followed Barristan into the Red Keep and into the lower levels where guards stood sentry and nodded or bowed, stepping aside for the most grim passages where one opened a bolted door, as Barristan allowed Max and Daenerys to enter first and took the rear.

"My dragons," Dany said, her heartbeat pounding as she entered the room where her scaly children had been fed milk of the poppy to keep them as docile as could be during the wedding. "Where are they?"

"There, Your Grace," Barristan stood solemnly, waving the torch which cast shadows upon the slit throats of the three dragons who lay quite dead in their own blood.

"No," Daenerys wept profoundly for her children as Max balled his fists. She turned to Barristan with the fury of a Khaleesi. "Who did this?"

"It was Lord Stannis, Your Grace," Barristan turned to Max. "He used a secret passage to gain entrance to this level of the cells, but we found him trapped and unable to escape."

"No," Dany cast her gaze to her children lying dead upon the cold flagstones. "I will not believe this. My heart still beats yet my dragons are dead. I must see Stannis pay for this."

Grace/ARIANNE

"I like Riverrun," Grace sniffed, as Catelyn showed her where she had grown up.

"I enjoyed it here," Catelyn walked beside them. "Now I spend all my days with Edmure for my father is with the Seven."

"Did you know your mother?" Grace asked.

"I did not," Catelyn shook her head. "Did you have a happy upbringing in Dorne, child?"

"Yeah," Grace lit up. "We played games, my uncle's daughters and I and there were lots of cute boys, but my father wanted me to marry the prince."

"As did Lord Tyrell who had his daughter set for the crown," Catelyn said wisely. "I am sure Margaery is a comely and wise girl but you are sweeter than I can imagine her ever being, with the Queen of Thorns whispering in her ear."

"I like Gendry," Grace said, not dishonestly. "He's nice to me."

Clara/CERSEI

"Well, Jon?" Eddard turned to his newly legitimised son.

"Both are good," Jon agreed. "I should count myself lucky that their fathers offered me their hands. I was once a bastard - "

"Yes, son," Ned clapped him on the back. "And now you are a Stark. Revel in it, won't you?"

"Yes, Father," Jon grinned impishly while Clara stood by silently and watched her favourite male character marry someone else. "Alys is closer to my age than Lyanna. I should like to know her better but if talks go well I will announce the betrothal."

"Of course, son," Ned smiled. "You and I will ride to Karhold to accept the terms."

Max/ROBERT

"You must not do this," Jon Arryn advised. "You must send him to the Wall."

"No," Max shook his head, picking up his greatsword. "He must die."

Max stood where all could see him on the steps of the sept of Baelor, where all the crowd were watching as Max rose forth, Jon Arryn quickly following while his small council were assembled nearby, Davos and Tyrion and Varys and Pycelle. His members of Kingsguard protected the king while Dany watched from a tower in the Red Keep, wise enough to know her presence would inflame the crowd even more.

"You stain your name, Robert," Stannis' teeth were grit. "I knew I might be caught, but I do not repent my charge. With all the gods eye upon us today let it be known my brother is henceforth a kinslayer. I do not fear death - "

"Fucker!" Max brought forth the blade which took off Stannis' head.

At once, the crowd was an uproar, mingled with cries of "Robert!" and "Stannis!" as jostling to and fro the people began to push and fight and Max surveyed the waste that was his people fighting amongst each other while Barristan stepped up to him.

"Let me take you back to the Red Keep," Barristan glanced to the sopping red leaking out of Stannis' stump at his neck while his head was openly agape. "The gold cloaks will deal with the citizens."

"No," Max stayed there to watch the populace cow under his control. "This is my city. I'm boss."

"As you say," Barristan took a respectful step back but Davos was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"I had thought you would value my counsel," Jon Arryn said to Max as he entered his chambers. "I find I am disappointed in you, young Robert."

"I'm not young," Max snatched back. "Besides, he deserved it."

"He was your brother and he spoke the truth," Jon's words were weighed heavy with his shoulders, the burden easing as he placed the brooch of Hand of the King upon the table. "I fear I cannot counsel you any further. You must take this path alone - "

"What!" Max exploded. "You're my Hand, you can't do this!"

"I am your Hand no longer," Jon Arryn shook his head as he stood at the door. "You are of your own mind now."

* * *

"Lord Arryn has left the capital, Your Grace," Varys sat at the small council which grew smaller every day. "He rides for the Vale as we speak."

"Where's Davos?" Max asked grumpily, of the onion knight he had made lord but whose loyalty was to Stannis.

"He has sailed for Storm's End," Varys' fingers fluttered. "We will need a new Hand and masters of law and ships both if we are to ride out this particular storm."

"Ned Stark," Max said at once. "Send a raven, he's gonna be my Hand."

"Didn't he just return to Winterfell, Your Grace?" Tyrion asked.

"Yeah, he can come back," Max reported sourly. "Tell Renly to come to King's Landing."

"I will, Your Grace," Varys' eyes glittered as he rose and bowed while Max sloped off to find Daenerys in the Red Keep.

"I cannot go on," Dany told him one night. "What use am I without my dragons?"

"You're use to me," Max grinned, pulling her closer in the covers where he had quite spent himself but sure she had not reached her apex. "You're my wifey."

"That is all I am," Dany's voice was hollow. "I had hoped to be kind to the people and for them to no longer see me as a threat, but your brother murdered my children and half your council is gone because of me."

Clara/CERSEI

"There is a raven for Lord Stark, my lady," Luwin inclined his head as he offered it to her, for in Ned's absence she was Lady of Winterfell and dealt with ruling it in his stead.

"Thanks," Clara tore it open and read that Max needed a new Hand of the King, for Stannis had killed the dragons and he demanded at once that Ned ride for the capital.

"Good news, I hope?" Luwin asked, not out of mere curiosity but knowing that Cersei Stark lacked the ability to govern a household as well as one would hope.

Grace/ARIANNE

"It's my father," Gendry read the missive with Catelyn over his shoulder. "He has beheaded Stannis for crimes against the crown - "

"No," Catelyn was firm. "It is the dragons he killed. All of Westeros will know him to be a kinslayer for such an affront of a charge."

"He is not a kinslayer," Gendry balled his fists. "Surely Stannis must've done some grievous hurt - "

"You know him," Catelyn said, though she had not spent time in the capital to know himself of late. "Has he been corrupted by this Targaryen girl, as I knew he would?"

Max/ROBERT

"Renly writes to you from Storm's End, Your Grace," Varys began at the next hastily arranged small council meeting. "He asks that you step down as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms so that Prince Gendry might take the throne once he is of age. Of course, Renly proposes himself as regent to rule in his stead until Gendry's next name day."

"No way," Max shouted. "They just want me and Daenerys out. Tell him to fuck off."

Clara/CERSEI

"Lady Stark," Rickard Karstark stood in the yard of Winterfell with his two sons and daughter. "May I present my daughter, Alys."

"Hello," Alys curtsied and smiled nervously.

"Alys," Clara repeated, finding in the black furs of her gown a locket which she drew out and hung around the young girl's neck. "I had this made for you in Lannisport."

"Oh!" Alys blushed, her fingers finding the silver direwolf pendant. "Thank you ever so much, Lady Stark."

"You can call me Cersei," Clara said irritably, heading back to Eddard's side. "Come on. I'll show you to your room."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Arianne," Catelyn came to Grace's side as she picked out a gown of blue silk. "Renly has written to my son asking to be regent in his place. You must prepare to leave at once."

"For King's Landing?" Grace asked. "But isn't Robert king?"

"Not for long," Catelyn echoed the same words Max/Robert had told her in the sept. "If Robert does not yield the crown to Gendry then Renly will assist us."

Max/ROBERT

"The prince and princess ride to King's Landing with a Tully host behind him, Your Grace," spoke Jorah Mormont, the man Max had named Hand of the King for his part in rescuing Daenerys and since Ned had not replied by raven.

"He wants the throne too?" Max demanded. "This isn't right. I'm disinheriting him!"

"That would not be a good move," Jorah considered. "If the prince is not considered to be your legal heir, then by rights the throne would pass to Renly, whose strength in the stormlands grows as more of Stannis' disillusioned soldiers flock to his banner."

"They should join me," Max grew puce. "Renly was only Lord of Storm's End in Stannis' absence! If they take me now they're still rebels, just like I was! Call the banners!"

"Who can we call, Your Grace?" Jorah spread his hands.

"The Starks! The Lannisters! Call Dorne," Max ordered. "Do it now!"

"Ned Stark has not responded to your raven," Jorah pointed out. "In any case, his host is back in Winterfell and unable to aid us in time. As for Dorne, Gendry rides with Princess Arianne who is an implicit hostage in this time of war - "

"Fuck!" Max turned to Jorah as if seeing him for the first time. "You're as annoying now as you are on the show!"

"What show is this, Ser Jorah?" Varys mused. "What were you doing in the Free Cities? Some mummer's act to wile away the time?"

"No, of course not," Jorah's husky voice shook it off. "Your Grace, the Lannisters may be of some use to us. The Tyrells are sore about spurning their daughter Margaery's hand for the prince, while Jon Arryn and his men would need to sail fast to reach us in time."

"Send a raven to Jaime," Max said. "I want all his men here to fight Gendry and Renly."

Clara/CERSEI

Jon and Alys took the seats of honor at the high table, while Ned and Clara sat on Jon's left while Lord Karstark and his wife sat to Alys' right, lords of the north filling the hall with merriment and ale while Jon toasted and Alys smiled with dimples in her cheeks.

"It is a beautiful sight, to watch Jon happily wed," Ned mused.

"Yep," Clara said, glad Jon was at least happy with a pliable wife like the Karstark girl. "Will Jon be Lord of Winterfell now?"

"No," Ned was patient with Cersei. "It will remain on my shoulders until I leave this earth."

"Hopefully never," Clara linked her arm around his and nestled into his familiar warmth of furs, wanting the warmth Jon would never provide her and finding an acceptable substitute. "I'm glad I married you."

Grace/ARIANNE

"We're fighting Max?" Grace was prone to stating the obvious yet even in Catelyn's hearing she could not help but repress a sigh.

"Yes, child," Catelyn admonished as King's Landing came into sight. "Robert has chosen not to yield the crown and instead has disinherited Gendry of his claim. Still, Robert won by right of conquest and it is here my son will stake his claim on the Iron Throne."

"Cat, we stop here," advised the Blackfish, riding up. "Scouts have reported Renly has made camp south of the capital with the Tyrell host."

"The Tyrells?" Catelyn was shocked. "Does Renly intend to take the capital for himself?"

"It seems that way," the Blackfish said gruffly. "If we are to play any part in this we must treat - "

"I will go," Gendry rode forth. "Renly is my uncle. It is only - "

"No," Catelyn shook her head. "It would not be wise. I will go in your stead."

"I'll come with you," Grace offered. "I know Willas, maybe I can help."

Max/ROBERT

"Fuck!" Max watched as Renly's army advanced, aided by the Tyrells. "Where's Jaime?"

"Likely delayed, Your Grace," Varys simpered. "His march from Casterly Rock is a longer one by far than the one which Renly took from Storm's End."

"I want an assassin," Max's eyes gleamed. "I want Renly dead, too."

"No doubt that would be wise," Pycelle suggested to his kinslayer king. "Yet even if Lord Renly were to fall, Lord Tyrell would pick up his armies in his absence."

"If I had Dany's dragons I could burn them all," Max sweated. "Where are all my men?"

"Either abandoned your cause during Stannis' death or too few remain to face the army before us," Varys concluded. "You must sue for peace, bide your time. Once the Lannisters arrive, if you can convince the Tullys you mean them no harm, surely our strength with that of the riverlands and westerlands will be enough to pose a sizeable threat."

"Yeah," Max dawned on an idea. "But I'll have to make Gendry my heir again!"

"You'll have to make him king and step down once he enters the capital, yes," Varys nodded. "The Lady Catelyn will be his regent, no doubt. Renly's men are opposed to you sitting the throne but not Gendry, with whom they have no qualm."

"No way," Max argued. "At this point with Gendry's claim uncertain, Renly can convince his men and the populace that he is next in line and fuck me, he has the bigger army!"

Clara/CERSEI

"Robert is besieged," Eddard read from the raven Maester Pycelle had sent. "Renly Baratheon and the Tyrells oppose him, for the poor justice he showed Lord Stannis. The prince has arrived with reinforcements with the riverlands but they might not be much help. He asks us to march at once."

"We can't arrive in time," Clara pointed out the obvious, quick to close the subject. "He needs to be stopped. Either Gendry or Renly will be king and either are OK by me."

"Robert is king," Ned reminded her in a chilly voice. "I will ride to King's Landing and Jon will be Lord of Winterfell in my absence."

"OK," Clara replied meekly, feeling cowed as she realised she had deserted her real life brother to these politicians in the Reach.

Grace/ARIANNE

"There is nothing to discuss, Lady Catelyn," Renly stood in his pavilion where his armor gleamed upon a rack along with all his weapons and a well laid table of fruit and delicacies. "I hold the claim if young Gendry is to be set aside and in any case, I have the larger army with which to hold the capital and defend the realm - "

"You will not win the love of the people this way," Catelyn's firm tone brooked no argument. "It is the prince - "

"No," Renly shook his head. "How can we be sure young Gendry won't pardon the Targaryen girl? He was sweet on her at one point, isn't that right? That's why you sent her away, my lady."

"I admit, I sent her away for precisely that," Catelyn nodded firmly. "My son sits with the Tully army outside King's Landing. Are you telling me you will fight us?"

"No," Renly shrugged. "Even your brother is not so stupid as to face me, inside the capital or outside it. You will yield to me in the end, for you love your son and will do anything to protect him. Tell your son if he joins me I'll name him Lord of Storm's End."

"I will," Catelyn saw she was getting nowhere. "But this battle isn't over yet."

"No," Renly gestured to the flaps of the pavilion. "I bid you a safe ride back to your camp."

"Idiot boy," Catelyn urged her horse forward as she rode beside Grace/Arianne, the small honor guard of Baratheon and Tyrell men giving them leave once they left the boundary and encircled once more by Tully soldiers who shot the opposing side dark looks.

"Is Gendry in danger?" Grace asked.

"A prince is always in danger, especially one who is so near to becoming king," Catelyn told her. "Be on your guard, Arianne."

"I will," Grace ventured as the Tully camp came upon the horizon.

Max/ROBERT

"We are low on grain stores, Your Grace," Tyrion pointed out as king and small council watched the Baratheon-Tyrell host feasting outside their walls. "At this rate the populace will revolt and what sellswords we have will find more fertile land to occupy, paid for with coin from the Reach."

"Damnit!" Max read again the parchment which stated Jaime's armies were but a few day's ride away. "How long can he take?"

"You must accept the Tully host into the garrison, Your Grace," Varys advised. "Their army is making use of the villages and crops outside the capital and we could do with the morale boost to the people and soldiers - "

"If I yield, what's the point?" Max complained. "Gendry will be king and Dany will be sent away. I need to win this battle on my own terms."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Jaime!" Grace cried, spotting the Lannister host heralded with crimson and gold lion banners approaching the Tully encampment which Lord Edmure and the Blackfish led.

"Princess," Jaime bowed, turning to Catelyn. "Lady Catelyn."

"Lord Jaime," Catelyn greeted him in return. "My brother and uncle await with my son."

"Can I come?" Grace asked, as Catelyn nodded stiffly knowing Gendry would not refuse her, though she had little place in these talks of warfare, but neither did Catelyn.

"I have brought the bulk of the westerlands," Jaime added. "Thirty thousand men."

"Lord Frey did not entertain me with his fighting force," Edmure was sour. "I bring a third of your number, Lord Jaime. Even with the small garrison kept within King's Landing, if we were to rally to the king's cry we simply do not have the numbers to best the Tyrells."

"What is your position, Prince Gendry?" Jaime frowned. "Your father has ruled you are not his heir therefore Renly feels free to place his claim above yours?"

"I won't let him," Gendry was stubborn. "I am fine to put my uncle on the small council but I have learned how to rule from my mother and better men than my father, whose interests only lay in hunting and bedding and drinking where my eye is on the future."

"Good lad," Jaime smiled. "I will fight for you though I fear we find ourselves at a disadvantage. If only there was some way we could splinter Renly from the Tyrells…"

"He has married the Tyrell girl," Catelyn interceded. "Doubtless Lord Mace took it upon himself to seize an advantage. Whatever complication of accession is debated, Renly will take the capital by force and he will hold it with enough men by the time winter comes. Gendry, I must needs tell you that your uncle has offered you Storm's End if you submit."

"This is not the place, my lady," the Blackfish glanced to Lord Jaime.

"Better to inform his lords and allies now," Catelyn dared her uncle. "We only face defeat against such overwhelming numbers. If we sue for peace now, we can all hope to have our heads still on our shoulders - "

"He will not take my head," Gendry was furious.

"He won't, mine either!" Grace squealed, a voice from the back. "Renly isn't Robert. He won't hurt his family."

"He's willing to overlook family for his gains," Edmure said blearily. "If he is to unite the realm then let us position ourselves as best as possible in this new scheme he's conducted."

"Yes," Catelyn agreed with her brother for once. "I don't doubt Renly will be a favourite among the commoners and the nobility alike but it will be the Tyrells who will be whispering poison in his ear. I should sleep safe at night to know Gendry has no part in it and rules Storm's End with only the welfare of his yet unborn children to worry about, not an assassin's dagger in the night."

"Then it's peace," Jaime said wryly. "At least, the Tyrells' notion of peace. Without us they only hold the capital and not the realm."

"What say you, Lord Lannister?" asked the Blackfish roughly. "You came to the call of King Robert, did you not? What made you decide to change sides?"

"My father died from the tyranny of one king," Jaime was solemn. "I will not submit to another while I live. Renly may be a different kettle of fish but I will be on my guard."

"It is not something I like," Catelyn agreed. "But we must look to the future of our children. Robert has dismantled us all with his notions of mania by wedding the Targaryen girl. We may still prosper under King Renly and Queen Margaery yet."

Max/ROBERT

"Jon Arryn's ships will never penetrate the bay," Jorah pointed to the Blackwater which was full of Redwyne ships quite prepared to attack invaders or those attempting to escape King's Landing.

"The Lannisters have joined the Tully camp," Varys reported. "At best half the fighting force of Renly and the Tyrells. We cannot expect them to reinforce us for such little gain, even to the rallying cry of their one true king."

"So it's defeat," Max resounded soullessly in the throne room where he sat on iron blades, Jorah and Varys in attendance while the Kingsguard ringed him nine strong.

"Yes," Varys shared a look with Jorah. "There is hope, Your Grace. Likely you will be sent to the Wall - "

"Jon Arryn told me to send Stannis to the Wall," Max said bitterly. "If I had done that none of this would ever have happened."

"Likely Renly would push his claim still," Jorah replied. "Yet at a later date to be sure, for the commons would otherwise not be so inflamed - "

"Yeah, yeah," Max held up a hand. "Tell them I'll yield the city if I can go to the Wall."

Grace/ARIANNE

"It's opening!" Grace cried, pointing to the gates of King's Landing where gold cloaks granted admission to the rebel soldiers hammering at their walls.

"We daren't move," Catelyn Tully advised. "This is Renly's win. Yet still he knows he must treat with us or lose control in the west and in the riverlands."

Clara/CERSEI

"How are you finding Winterfell?" Clara asked the newly Alys Stark.

"I am enjoying myself," Alys smiled meekly. "How are you, Lady Cersei?"

"My husband rides to war," Clara replied, droll. "Alright, all things considering."

"That is good," the blush crept up Alys' cheeks as her eyes crinkled into a smile. "Jon is a good man to me. He treats me fairly as any maiden dreams, you should know."

"Alright," Clara turned away to eat from the platter laid before her as she contemplated yet another lonely night.

Max/ROBERT

"Robert," Renly began, entering the throne room with his Rainbow Guard with Loras Tyrell in charge. "I appreciate the gesture of surrender - "

"Don't count on it," Max stepped down from the Iron Throne as his Kingsguard ringed him, Barristan in front. "You only won cos' you had the biggest army."

"That's how war works, brother," Renly smirked, as Baratheon and Tyrell soldiers filled the throne room, outnumbering the Kingsguard and assorted gold cloaks loyal to Robert three to one.

Grace/ARIANNE

Grace stepped into the Red Keep some time later, once all the hubbub and fuss had died down in the city, wearing a fine gown with her dark skin and long hair making her a great beauty as Gendry had come to know more intimately than any other man she had met.

"Lord Gendry. Princess Arianne," King Renly smiled, sitting atop the Iron Throne with Queen Margaery on a smaller but more decadent throne positioned nearby.

"Your Grace," Grace/Arianne curtsied, as Gendry beside her bowed and both made their oaths of fealty.

"Very good," Renly smirked. "As promised, I hereby raise Lord Gendry to Storm's End and all its incomes, as well as the title of Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. Rise."

**300 AC**

Clara/CERSEI

"Lord Renly Baratheon has taken the Iron Throne," Luwin read of the raven which had reached Winterfell's ears while Clara stood, solemnly watching Jon and Alys walk together through the yard where builders were assembling hardier fortifications. "He and Queen Margaery now rule the Seven Kingdoms."

"Great," Clara sauntered off to the balcony where Jon kissed Alys' hand who returned to her ladies amongst her sewing while Jon mounted his horse and tried the tilt with his lance. "What else?"

"It says here," Luwin peered at the parchment. "He names Lord Mace Tyrell as Hand of the King while his small council is otherwise unchanged except for appointing Lord Randyll Tarly as master of laws and Lord Paxter Redwyne as master of ships. He has instated Ser Barristan Selmy as Lord Commander of his Rainbow Guard."

"What about Robert?" Clara asked dully, the snow whipping in the air as Jon's lance hit point on target and his carefree grin made Clara's heart twinge and she turned to face Luwin, a direct stare that would've toppled a lesser man with Cersei's comely looks.

"He has been removed of his titles and sent to the Wall," Luwin spoke from memory for he knew of this news from a different source. "Renly has kept all Wardens the same."

"Good," Clara folded her arms. "So. The realm's at peace, then?"

"I surmise Doran Martell will be unhappy," Luwin considered. "Princess Arianne was set to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms yet the Tyrells took that chance from them."

"Who cares about Dorne," Clara turned to the courtyard where Alys and her friends watched Jon with cooing and clapping and blushing. "Is there news from the Wall?"

"Yes, my lady," Luwin brought forth another piece of parchment. "Lord Commander Mormont writes that the garrison at Castle Black is grievously undermanned with threats from wildings on the darker horizon."

"I don't know what to do," Clara bit her lip. "Until Ned comes back, that is."

Max/ROBERT

"Who's there?" Max peered in the sudden shaft of light which illuminated the black cell he had slept and shit in for god knows how long.

"It is your gaoler," tittered a familiar voice as Varys came into sight, holding a lit torch.

"What do you want?" Max asked moodily, chains clinking and holding in place. "Am I to die now?"

"Oh no, my lord," Varys tittered. "Your brother does want to show some restraint, I trust. You will lose your right to lordship once he sends you to the Night's Watch, however."

"I'll break out," Max said confidently. "I'll come back and kill him."

"Such words whispered are not safe even here," Varys raised his eyebrows. "Even as we speak, Renly is preparing the delegation of armed guards to escort you safely and without incident north at once. Ser Barristan Selmy, the honored Lord Commander Renly chose to pardon will see to it that you do so in good health."

"Barristan will be on my side," Max glared.

"I fear not," Varys replied. "Barristan is as honorable a man as the tales spin of knights and maidens. With his skill at swordsmanship you'd be hard pressed to fight back nor rely on sellswords to secure your freedom, let alone you lack the gold to entice them."

"So what?" Max underscored. "You're here to tell me there's no hope?"

"I came to report," Varys moved closer. "Your wife, Daenerys, who once you go north will be alone once more. She has been sent to the Silent Sisters, but before that, she was force fed moon tea to rid herself of the child growing inside her - "

"What - " Max raged against the chains as Varys knew he would and stood but a step out of reach. "That fucken witch said she can't have any babies!"

"Renly chose to taught you a lesson, my lord," Varys replied thinly, setting down the torch in the sconce so light illuminated the bare straw mattress and upended chamber pot oozing sour smells. "If you had let Rhaella's bud die in her belly, Renly would be in no need to apply the same justice to her daughter to prevent a similar uprising. What would people say if Renly pardoned Daenerys' baby only to keep it by his side and repeat history once again?"

"Get out," Max said darkly. "Before I kill you myself."

"No one loves the Spider," Varys shook his head. "Renly will make a good king, you will see. That is why I showed Stannis how to access the black cells in the first place. I warned him he would be caught, but thankfully for me, his duty kept him steadfast and his mouth shut."

Grace/ARIANNE

"Welcome, Princess Arianne," Ser Cortnay Penrose, the castellan of Storm's End bowed as she and Lord Gendry entered the main hall.

"My father took me here while I was growing up to visit my uncle," Gendry shrugged, at the fortifications that could easily repel any attack apart from a prolonged siege not unlike the one during Robert's Rebellion. "I guess I should call him Your Grace."

Zoe/ASHA

"We have no chance," Theon's breath grew icy atop the Wall as men scurried to and fro atop the battlements. "I hear the new king is headed north."

"King Robert?" Zoe frowned. "He was deposed?"

"Yeah," Theon leaned on his sword. "Renly Baratheon rules now. The old king will be sent to us as a ranger, considering he's seen his time in war and is considered one of the hardiest fighters in all the realm."

"We have to try," Zoe glanced to the trees where each day she prayed she would not hear the horn calling them to action for such small a garrison could not hold against the numbers reported back to them of wildlings. "We're Greyjoys. We don't go down easy."

"You're a Greyjoy," Theon was bitter. "I am a man of the Night's Watch. I'm surprised you're still here - "

"Nowhere else to go," Zoe shrugged, tucking her hands under her armpits for she had worn warmer furs and cut her long dark hair short, looking more like the real Asha and not so obvious a woman to the leering rapers who patrolled the battlements of Castle Black.

Clara/CERSEI

"How was it?" Clara asked, meeting Eddard as he rode back into Winterfell. Jon and Alys stood by her, as did Lyarra who hugged her father on sight.

"King Renly rules in the capital now," Ned dismounted his horse, suddenly tired as though the great strain of the events that had come to pass were weighing heavily on his shoulders. "He has issued young Gendry the title of Lord of Storm's End and kept me as Warden of the North; for that much I can be grateful."

Max/ROBERT

"Hey, let's stop here," Max argued. "It's getting dark."

Barristan ordered the mixed delegation of Tyrell and Baratheon soldiers dismounted their horses, clearing out at the inn at the crossroads at the Trident and paying with good coin so they could secure their hostage, along with a few other law breakers intended for the Wall.

Max sat with the criminals at his table while Barristan kept his watch, the Tyrell soldiers who were an 'honor' guard to ensure nothing went awry on the trip sharing ale with the Baratheon men sworn to Renly, rather than those who had kept Robert's garrison.

"Howsit," Max drank deeply of the ale, knowing he would get no such respite on the Wall where he would live the rest of his life cold and hungry and with no women to speak of.

"Let's make a run for it," advised one thief who glanced to Barristan who was cursing the soldiers for spilling ale on one of the tavern wenches. "We can make it - "

"Nah," Max shook his head. "I'll be recognised anywhere. You do it."

Grace/ARIANNE

"I'm pregnant," Grace said to Gendry one day, with maester Jurne in attendance.

"What?" Gendry made to scoop her up but thought better of it. "How long?"

"I dunno, my period hasn't come… " Grace said, in typical straightforward fashion as the maester frowned and Gendry blushed. "I mean, um, my moon's blood. Sorry."

Zoe/ASHA

"There is no need for you to stay," Lord Commander Mormont instructed her one evening, pulling her out of the mess hall for more men eyed her with temptation. "The men are getting restless though they make plenty use of whores in Mole's Town."

"Because I'm a girl?" Zoe raised her eyebrow though it was true she slept with a knife under her pillow and only stayed since she had heard of Jon's marriage to a Karstark girl. "Fine. I get it - "

"Wait," Mormont held her back, his raven quorking in its cage while shouts and cries emanated from the south. A long halloooo of the horn echoed and he burst out of his solar with Zoe quick on his heels to see a number of Thenns storming Castle Black from the rear. "We will need every man - woman - we can get it. Pick up your axe, Greyjoy."

Clara/CERSEI

"We should go," Clara suggested, having not yet heard of the attack on Castle Black yet watching enough of the show to know perhaps things should start moving in this direction.

"To raise the northern lords to help the Wall will take some time," Ned considered. "If the wildings intend to attack in such great numbers they will need all the help we can bring."

Max/ROBERT

"I thought Jon Arryn would meet me," Max said, as they left the crossroads inn of which one route was up the high road to the Bloody Gate.

"Robert," Barristan hesitated. "You are a strong warrior and a hearty drinking companion, but a beloved king you are no longer."

Together Max traveled with Barristan and his mixed Baratheon and Tyrell honor guard north up the kingsroad past the Twins on the left and through the causeway of the Neck where the three towers of Moat Cailin met them on their way.

Grace/ARIANNE

"Oberyn!" Grace cried, her belly round as she greeted her uncle in the great hall of Storm's End, while Gendry attended to lordly matters with Ser Cortnay.

"How are you?" Oberyn held her at length, admiring how beautiful she was with child and holding her close. "Your father is working on things as we speak - "

"What things?" Grace pouted. "Everything's fine!"

"Do not worry," Oberyn smirked his secret smile as he glanced up. "Lord Gendry! The man after my sweet niece's heart."

Zoe/ASHA

"They're animals," Zoe swung her axe, well trained in all her years at Winterfell but not for the brutality the Thenns showed as they were taken completely by surprise, only forty men of the Night's Watch including cripples and children fighting a wilding force two hundred strong. "C'mon, Theon! Kill 'em!"

"I'm as good as you," Theon reddened and indeed his swordsmanship showed in the fight.

Clara/CERSEI

"You must stay here," Ned advised and he and Jon climbed into the saddle. "Jon and I will meet up with Lord Karstark's host near Long Lake and proceed from there."

"Look after Alys, Mother," Jon grinned as he turned his attention to the ride ahead.

"I will," Clara smiled faintly and waved them goodbye as she headed back into the castle of Winterfell.

"I hope Jon will be OK," Alys admitted. "Father, too."

"The Wall needs manning," Clara instructed her as if she were a little child. "I'm going to practice archery."

Clara left Alys to her sewing and praying at the godswood while she notched an arrow her bow, overseen by Rodrik Cassel who was approving of her technique though she didn't spend enough time to think so highly of her skill.

"Lady Stark," Luwin's robe swished as he left footprints in the snow. "Ser Barristan, the Lord Commander of the Rainbow Guard requests to see you in Lord Stark's absence."

"Oh," Clara put down her bow, trying to remember who this man was, the aged swordsman who Joffrey had initially dismissed in another timeline. "Let him in."

"Alys," Clara called to her daughter-in-law.

"Yes, Lady Stark?" Alys asked, her sewing in her hands.

"Put that down, and don't call me Lady Stark," Clara instructed. "We have a guest. You'd best learn how to do my job when I'm gone."

"Oh," Alys flushed, one of her friends relieving her of her burden as she smiled. "Yes, Cersei. Please excuse my faults."

Clara rolled her eyes as Ser Barristan came in, all white armor and cloak despite heralding the order known as the Rainbow Guard. Clara curtsied as did Alys while Barristan bowed solemnly to her, respectfully removing the helm of his armor.

"Lady Stark," Barristan began. "I thank you for your hospitality."

"You're welcome," Clara replied. "Ned is traveling to the Wall with my son, though."

"I only came to ask if I might requisition some food for my travels," Barristan petitioned. "I come on behalf of King Renly, transporting men to the Night's Watch."

"Then you must have Robert with you," Clara's eyes flashed.

"Yes," Barristan hesitated. "I do. My men and I will be camping outside Winterfell - "

"No, you can come in," Clara suggested, for she wanted a long talk with her real-life brother. "But keep an eye on the rapers you bring."

"Of course," Barristan inclined his head and soon Tyrell and Baratheon men filled the courtyard among the scant Stark garrison left behind, men in rags and chains led behind most notably of them the former Baratheon king of muscle and sinew and a wiry beard.

"There is a feast being laid for the men inside the great hall," Clara pointed and saw that many of the soldiers were relieved of their aches and pains to see them serviced by good food and the servants who stared at them with blushing grins. "I want to talk to the prisoner."

"As you will, my lady," Barristan beckoned Robert forth. "I must remain in his presence."

"I understand," Clara nodded, to this gentle man who could look her real life father had he not been a dolt to die in a car crash. "Robert."

"Cersei," Max broke out in a grin.

Max/ROBERT

"You should've let Daenerys go," Clara sat inside her solar where Barristan kept his hand on the hilt of his sword while Max sat on a chair opposite her but his hands still bound, eating the food off his plate with his no aid but his mouth. "You lost yourself the kingdom Tywin worked so hard to win for you - "

"He didn't win it for me," Max soured. "I crushed three armies in a day at that place in the Reach. If it wasn't for Sam's dad beating me I would've been victorious and demanded Tyrell give me his first born daughter as my bedroom slut."

"You're pathetic," Clara spat, as Barristan's brow wrinkled and tried to work out the association between these two which led to such ill feeling. "By the way, the wildings are attacking Castle Black."

"Oh yeah?" Max frowned. "Ygritte?"

"I suppose," Clara shrugged. "Ned and Alys' dad went to fight them at the Wall."

"Alys?" Max grinned knowingly. "Jon's wife, eh?"

"Yes," Clara was noncommittal. "Don't talk to me about it, dick."

Grace/ARIANNE

"How's Elia?" Grace asked, fanning herself for a servant doing so only embarassed her while Oberyn lounged and ate fruit from a gilded plate.

"She is flush with motherhood as you are," Oberyn smirked. "But her husband dares not ask for more children from the gods in her fragile state."

"She has twins," Grace glowed. "Lucky."

"You will be praying hard enough to deliver one, yet alone two," Oberyn smirked. "Trust me on this, little Arianne."

"OK," Grace giggled and took a grape from the plate he offered with a little bow.

Zoe/ASHA

"The Stark host approaches," Zoe watched from the crenellations, bound hand and foot as the Thenns flooded Castle Black, taking heads left and right of those who had spurned them while she was led down into the cells. "Too little, too late."

"You know this Stark?" asked Styr, the Magnar of Thenn.

"Yeah," Zoe saw her chance for escape and took it. "I'm his ward, Asha Greyjoy."

"I don't know anything about that," Styr had no ears and was bald atop his head. "If you would treat with them and tell us we mean no harm, only to settle in the Gift, I will give you your freedom. Else we will slaughter your brother and all the children too."

Clara/CERSEI

"Good riddance," Clara muttered as Max was led out the next day, bound as were all the captives headed to the Night's Watch under the command of Barristan the Bold.

"He was such a powerful king in his day," Alys commented, her black gown swishing as she followed Clara who always seemed to be a step ahead and in some rush or other. "I wonder how the new king will be?"

"Boring," Clara replied, whose open admission shocked Alys. "Don't bother going south; there's nothing there."

Max/ROBERT

Max traveled with Ser Barristan with Winterfell in the rear and the wolfswood soon consuming them as they traveled up the kingsroad and past Long Lake with the Gift coming into sight.

Zoe/ASHA

"Halt!" cried one of the scouts sworn to the Stark and Karstark host who had stopped near Queenscrown.

"I'm Asha Greyjoy," Zoe wore Stark colours she had brought from Winterfell when she had first ridden to the Wall to better ensure she would not mistaken for a deserter. "I'm ward to Ned Stark. Let me through - "

"Lord Stark?" frowned the scout. "I would ask that you come with me and abandon your weapons, m'lady."

Zoe rode with the scout, soldiers both Stark and Karstark surrounding her just to make sure and she soon came upon the encampment where Lord Stark stood with Jon and Lord Karstark with his two sons.

"Asha?" Ned asked.

"Lord Stark," Zoe began. "Castle Black has fallen to the Thenns. Mance Rayder will soon march with all his host to the Wall now that the gates will be open to them."

"Those blasted wildings!" Lord Karstark cursed as his men joined him in his anger. His eyes grew fierce as he peered at Zoe. "How many are there?"

"About a hundred thousand, I'd say," Zoe said glibly, in her usual sarcastic tone which sunk the spirits of many a man who stood armored and ready for battle. "If I don't return, Styr will chop up Theon and many of the elderly and children there, too."

"Their request?" Ned frowned, as Jon settled in his saddle.

"That they settle on the Gift," Zoe told him. "I told him I'd speak with you, first."

"Come with me," Ned brought Asha into closer counsel so that only Jon, Lord Karstark and his sons could be consulted. "We cannot hope to defeat a wilding party so large nor can we march in time to relieve Castle Black of their garrison, let alone rescue the hostages."

"What else can we do, but fight?" Lord Karstark was fierce. "The wildings will rape our women and take all the crops for themselves."

"We must send a raven to King's Landing to keep the king abreast of these events," Ned counseled. "If possible I will treat with Mance Rayder and come to an agreement - "

"Father," Jon blurted out. "Mance will hold you hostage while he takes Winterfell and who knows how much of the north will fit all his army - "

"I must go," Ned stared up at the snow. "You know our words. You are a Stark, Jon."

"Ned," Lord Karstark brought his attention to the galloping of hooves. "A rider from the south."

Max/ROBERT

"Hey, Ned," Max grinned but Ned was as grim and dour as he usually was.

"Lord Stark," Barristan was shimmering white in his plate mail accompanied by the snow that fell around their feet. "I am tasked with bringing these recruits to the Night's Watch."

"It is good to see you, Ser Barristan," Ned nodded, ignoring Max/Robert. "I do not wish to interfere in your duty; however we have just received word that a wildling army one hundred thousand strong has captured Castle Black and taken the infirm hostage."

"No," Barristan was in shock. "Under whose command?"

"Mance Rayder," Lord Karstark provided the initiative, then spat. "The King Beyond The Wall."

"I see," Barristan hesitated, thinking back to the Defiance of Duskendale. "There is no hope to retrieve the hostages, then?"

"I have sent my ward, Asha, back to Castle Black to treat with her captors so that I might negotiate in her place," Ned said, as Barristan nodded. "These wildings look to settle in the Gift."

"A hard choice, Lord Stark," Barristan spoke the obvious. "Yet it seems to me our king must take his forces north to deal with the wildling threat if negotiations go awry."

"Yes," Ned agreed. "I have sent word to King's Landing. I should like to hear the king's response if I am to grant them land in the north."

Zoe/ASHA

"You're back," Mance Rayder spoke, as Zoe was hustled into his vicinity and forced onto her knees, where the garrison of Castle Black was full of serious raiders and berserkers called the wildlings among beasts she did not care to look at. "What did the honorable Lord Stark have to say?"

"He wants to come and talk to you," Zoe said miserably, hating being at the will of another like when Pyke was sieged and enemies were all round.

"He offers himself as hostage?" Styr raised his eyebrows, looking obscene without ears.

"Yep," Zoe glanced to where Theon was bound. "But he said a new king rules in the south, Renly Baratheon, and he must await word from him before he comes here."

"Of course," Mance was quite serious as he glanced to his brethren who acknowledged.

Max/ROBERT

"Yo, Ned!" Max waved but once more Ned was as grim as his duty and returned to the tent where he took in counsel from his advisers, among them Lord Karstark. "Fuck, it's like he doesn't give a shit about me or anything."

Zoe/ASHA

"It is done," Mance spoke to the wildlings as Zoe sat bound beside Theon, albeit given certain food privileges for having returned on her word after meeting Ned Stark. "We will settle in the Gift and some of us amongst lordling provinces to help them prepare for winter, as such a host as mighty as ours cannot hope to feed if we make this land as barren as north of the Wall."

"I will not kneel to the king, new or old," spoke Tormund and many agreed with him. "What does this Baratheon say about us? Must we swear allegiance before living in his holdfasts?"

"No," Mance shook his head. "The Stark lord tells us winter is coming as though we do know what worse approaches. If we can man the Wall and live amongst the northmen and prepare them for winter then with a force our size we are well positioned to demand independence. Some of you will man Moat Cailin to ensure no southron army comes to curtail us of our right. If we make allies of the northmen our rule is secure."

Max/ROBERT

"What's gonna happen to me?" Max asked grumpily.

"You will man the Wall alongside the wildlings," Barristan told Max as he led him into Castle Black, populated by the sort of crazed warriors Max associated his battle style with.

"Who are we fighting if the wildlings are here?" Max was puzzled.

"I don't know," replied Barristan, grizzled. "The wildlings seem to think a threat still looms and if they're guarding the Wall instead of indulging their newfound bounty I'm inclined to believe them."

Clara/CERSEI

"So the wildlings live in the north now?" Clara screwed up her nose as unwashed men and women with axes and bear pelts entered Winterfell.

"Aye," Ned nodded. "Some will be in every holdfast of the north to help us prepare for winter and repel any attack that might come from beyond the Wall."

"What attack?" Clara asked. "The White Walkers?"

"Mance Rayder seems to think so," Ned nodded. "I executed a man for desertion who said the same. But what can we do about myths of ice? Only Old Nan could tell us the stories."

"Yeah," Clara tried her hardest to remember what happened in the show but came up blank. "If only Tywin was here."

Max/ROBERT

"Fuck yeah," Max grinned as he saw Ygritte, passing through Castle Black with her fiery hair and countenance. It had not taken him long to win himself a few allies of the wildlings for he loved senseless slaughter and had won a few sparring matches against the brutal warriors. He may have lost the crown but he preferred these men and women to the senseless circuit of politics back at the capital, so his life wasn't too bad after all.

Grace/ARIANNE

"It is a girl, my lady," spoke the wet nurse who handed Grace/Arianne her child.

"Aw, cute!" Grace was so flush with emotion she thought she might faint, along with the physical exertions she felt the simulation had replicated to par. "Bring Gendry in here, please."

"My lady," the wet nurse hesitated. "You should be cleaned up first - "

"Oh," Grace realised. "Yes, please."

Clara/CERSEI

"I am frightened for our new guests," Alys gulped. "Yet Jon remains by my side and I draw strength from him - "

"Good for you," Clara watched as winter fell and the harvest became harder to collect day after day. "Are you with child?"

"I - I have not had my moon's blood," Alys trembled. "I am so scared of childbirth. Will it hurt, truly?"

"No," Clara scoffed, turning away. "You're a Stark now. Be glad of it."


End file.
